Rexsoka: The Ravishal Pulsar.

Rex looked out at his men, grimacing as he began the briefing for a new top secret mission.

Ahsoka and Anakin were behind him, listening intently.

"Boys, this one's going to be a tough bird. In recent weeks, several of our attack groups were hit by a mystery weapon, pushing us back from our advances across the galactic front. For a while there, we could not find the 'super weapon' that was harassing our ships and stations. High command sent out probes to measure the trajectory of these mysterious attacks, and we found the location. You're not going to believe this!"

Anakin stepped forward "Planet Aracta is a cold hostile world with many mountain ranges and brutal blizzard storms that manifest themselves across the planet. It is also where the Separatists have kept a diabolical secret. A hidden base, with a super weapon so discreet we might not ever have found it."

Anakin revealed a 3d hologram map of the planet surface, leading up to the base.

"This weapon, a sort of large pulsar weapon, is in a fixed position. The planet orbits a dying sun, but does not rotate, which accounts for two things. The constant blizzards, and its deadly accuracy against our defenses."

One of the clones raised his hand. "Well, sir, should we just bombard the planet?"

Rex stepped up to answer. "The gun is highly accurate from the depths of space hitting targets light years away. Sending our capital ships would be suicide. It would blow us out of the system before we could reach orbit. Blow up our capital ships, that is."

Ahsoka stepped forward with the next part of the briefing. "The cannon is designed to hit large targets at far distances. Several of our stations and cruisers have sustained damage and casualties from its powerful energy beams. The calculations that go into using such a weapon are incredible. A genius had to have built the cannon. Which is why we are leading a small team by shuttle to land on the planet, progress unseen through hostile environments, infiltrate the base, and blow up the weapon from within."

"It is highly dangerous, but considering the attrition we will suffer if this cannon keeps pressuring us through the war, we cannot let it continue its sporadic but effective attacks. That's why the Chancellor picked the 501st for this mission. Because we are the best!" Anakin concluded.

"We are currently out of the gun's view in the orbit of Yavin. We will take a shuttle and make the jump to Aracta in 2 hours. We land near the base, find a way in, and blow the kriffing thing up. Any questions?"

Rex looked around. The men were ready. He gave a signal with his hand and they dispersed to get ready.

Anakin said a few words to Ahsoka and went to get his stuff ready.

Rex watched them as the other clones departed to prep for the mission. His heart pounded with excitement and fear. Not fear for himself.

"Commander Tano, may I speak with you?" Rex asked politely.

Ahsoka turned to him in surprise as Anakin left. "You're too formal, Rex. You don't have to be so official around me." She tried to smile, but saw that Rex looked almost sick to his stomach.

"What's the matter?" she looked at him, concerned. Ahsoka was good with her Jedi skills, and she had always sensed from Rex a particular fondness when he was around her.

"Commander..." He started to stamer, rolled his eyes and simply played all his proverbial cards on the table. "I think, maybe, you should not go on this mission."

"What do you mean?" She asked, surprised.

Rex felt awkward, but felt she had spent so much time in the war taking risks. He could not allow her to take one more.

"I...have a bad feeling about this." he stammered some more.

Ahsoka sensed more than he was letting on. She had always suspected more from him. More that he was hiding.

"I understand your concern. Believe me, I was tempted to order you to stay behind. Because...I felt you could be better off here as well."

Now it was Ahsoka's turn to stammer. She had suddenly blushed over a thought that she had long kept bottled up. She was as much afraid for him as he was for her.

"I guess we are at an impass." He said quietly.

"Rex..." Ahsoka bit her lip and tried to choose her words carefully "We have a duty to the Republic. Lives are at stake. As much as I would like to say more, I cannot."

Rex nodded, feeling a bit defeated "Me too. Duty is all we clones have ever known. It's all I have ever known. Until I...realized there could be more to life."

Rex moved awkwardly, fidgeting his hands. Ahsoka boldly took his hands in hers.

Rex's heart almost stopped.

"I take comfort that we will be on this mission together. Win or lose, we will see it through." She smiled, and knew what he was trying not to say.

He felt some confusion, but her smile madev him feel ten feet tall. He could almost sense what she was saying as well.

"Always back to the war. A war that doesn't care about-" he started feeling more regret that he couldn't just say certain things.

"-Rex."

Ahsoka's soothing voice suddenly made him fall silent. She had said his name, not as a commander or an indifferent Jedi. She called out his name, like Ahsoka. And it was a magic to him. A magic that danced in his heart, even as they both felt the mission would surely be a suicide for them both.

But she said his name, and in her voice was sensuality, care, and a truth that both of them left unspoken.

Rex's heart wanted to burst and blurt out all things, but she said that name, one word and it resounded completely.

Ahsoka let go of his hands and went to prepare for the deadliest mission they had ever known.

"On my world, we have a saying..." She looked back at him "...Avec tout mon Coeur..."

Rex's mouth went dry and his heart bounced around from the lyrical song of the Togrutan tongue.

"What does that mean?" he begged.

Anakin called out on the intercom, interrupting their moment.

"Captain Rex, I'd like you to report to the Hanger Bay. The probe has sent more intel, and I think we have a pla to work out."

Rex looked up and saw that Ahsoka was gone.

"Yes sir" Rex sighed.

Everything happened fast. Anakin and Rex ordered the platoon to board the shuttle, with Ahsoka joining them. The mission was underway, and there was little in the way of conversation.

Fives and Tup were a little more lively, trying to alleviate the tension.

"Care to wager how many clankers I can scrap in this bantha shoot?" Fives asked "I am going for 25. I don't think this base is very big, not a lot to shoot at. So I'll say 25."

Tup grinned under his helmet "I'll do you better. I'm looking to scorch 30 of those buckets."

"You're on. We'll see who gets the bigger pile!" Fives felt a little blood thirsty, ready to land and give a good smackdown to the enemy.

"Stay frosty, boys!" Rex calmed them down. "There will be plenty of time for that when we land."

The shuttle made the jump after clearing out from Yavin's orbit, shooting to hyperspace en route to their destination.

Everybody held on as the ship was jostled a little, but were generally unfazed. In moments, they cleared hyperspace and sped towards the light blue swirling violence of Aracta.

"Time just got short!" Anakin saw on the scanners two vulture droids coming in fast.

"A patrol has spotted us, so everybody hold on tight!" Anakin did some fancy maneuvers, but the tail of the shuttle was blasted.

Clone gunners kept the fighters at bay, but the fight was taking its toll on the shuttle as Anakin flew very harshly.

"Ugh! It's easier to do these things in my Jedi fighter!" He gritted his teeth.

Fives and Tup held on tight as the shuttle was rocked around.

"Don't worry" Fives tried to be casual "Anakin IS the best pilot in the Republic. And even if we get shot down, it'll be our chance to get away from it all."

"Pfft!" Tup dismissed the notion "The glass is always half full with you, isn't it?"

An explosion interrupted everyone's focus.

"Hold on!" Anakin shouted as he tried to control the ship's descent "We're going down!"

Rex sighed and looked at Ahsoka. She looked up at him.

"I'm sorry. I should have made you stay on board the command ship..." Ahsoka whispered as she stared at him.

Rex took off his helmet and tried to say something in the remaining seconds before impact.

"How can a man die better, then against fearful odds, and with friends by his side?"

He pulled Ahsoka to him and she held on tight.

"Not just friends..." She whispered, confessing in this moment of truth, the moment they both faced death.

For Rex, time stopped. He looked at her and wanted this moment. Forever.

"I love you." He said, more terrified to say those words than face a crash landing.

Ahsoka's heart pounded rapidly. It was not just facing death, but in that moment she also faced life!

Both of them felt they had mere seconds together, having just confessed their hearts to each other.

They smiled, realizing that to die in love for a few seconds was far better than living forever with secrets.

They embraced. In that second, Ahsoka could hear his heart beat. Rex swept his hand across her back, caressing her smooth skin. But survival distracted them from any thought of sensuality.

The crash was quick, and terrifying. The shuttle smashed into a small mountain near the base.

Everyone was tossed about, Anakin was heard yelling. In seconds, it was over and all was quiet.

"Everyone, sound off!" Rex tried to get up. Ahsoka helped him. The platoon was a bit roughed up, but they were okay.

"Ahsoka, you okay?" He asked.

"I'm doing okay." She held his hand and smiled bravely amidst the chaos.

Anakin had not fared so well. His leg was busted up bad. The medic rushed to him with some painkillers.

"His leg has been broken in two places" The medic looked up at Ahsoka and Rex.

"It's just a scratch!" Anakin muttered with hurt pride.

"Master, just stay put. Rex and I will take the men-"

"-Snip, listen." Anakin sobered up, realizing he would be stuck in the shuttle. "The shuttle got banged up, but we're still in one piece. I will try to take care of repairs. We can still fly this thing out of here."

"Good. We will be in and out before you know it." She smiled enthusiastically.

"She's right." Rex beamed "We have this under control."

One of the troopers ran up to them "The vultures are back!"

The platoon exited the craft and took up defensive positions. Two of them were blasted away by passing strafe as a vulture flew by.

It was dark out, and snow flurries were blowing.

But the men were deadly accurate. Rex and several others blasted both vultures away. The droids crashed and exploded in the distance, but there was no time to celebrate.

"Men, gather up your gear. We're moving out! We no longer have the element of surprise, but they might think they destroyed us. In any case, time is not on our side."

Ahsoka dressed warm and soon they were marching towards the base perimeter. Anakin and two guards stayed behind to work out repairs.

Rex and the platoon trudged across the ankle deep snow towards dim yellow lights that dotted the mountain side.

As they got nearer, a large vent door opened.

"What is it, Rex!?" Ahsoka squinted up, trying to look past the flurries.

"It's the main cannon!" Rex gasped as a large cannon revealed itself.

The gun pointed up out into the sky. All was silent for a few seconds. Then, a fire of green burst from the gun, launching into the cosmos at some far away, unseen target.

The noise and recoil of the gun reverberated through the mountain range, disrupting the area.

Everyone struggled to stay standing from the shock of the attack. But that was not the worst of it.

A rumbling was heard above them, and Rex scanned the area. He took Ahsoka's hand "RUN! AVALANCHE!"

The platoon hurried to higher ground as waves of snow crumbled down the mountain.

Fives slipped in the snow, almost spraining his ankle. Tup grabbed him "I got you, clumsy!" They ran quickly to a solid ledge by the mountain. Two other troopers, however, got swept away by the avalanche.

But there was no time to mourn the loss.

"Bye, Trapper, Burns. See you on the other side of the farm." Tup whispered a vague little blessing as he watched the snow wipe out down the slope. The avalanche stopped, but Rex broke out gear for climbing up.

"There's a ventilation shaft..." Rex launched his grapple hook.

Fives looked at Tup, grinning. "There's always a ventilation shaft!"

The platoon launched three lines and started climbing. Rex led the way, while Ahsoka brought up the rear.

The winds started whipping about, and one of the troopers slipped, losing his grip. Ahsoka looked up in a split second and held out her hand, stopping his fall with the Force long enough for him to regain his grip.

"You good, Axel?" She asked.

"Yeah," The clone looked at her briefly "I owe you one."

Ahsoka smiled "Drinks are on me when we get back to the Cantina."

The men climbed more energetically, infected by the Jedi's optimism.

Rex opens the large vent and starts helping men in. Ahsoka reaches the top and they march down the long tube.

"Shh, listen" Ahsoka paused the group. They peered into a vent overlooking the main gun.

"Incredible!" Rex gasped "No wonder they need massive vents. The heat put out by that monster gun is tremendous! The recoil alone could have destroyed this mountain if it weren't designed so perfectly!"

Ahsoka noticed the hundreds of people and droids moving around the gun.

She also heard the voice of their Nemoidian leader, Lok Durd.

"We have a fleet of Republic ships around Geonosis, patrolling the system. We have a 20 minute window to target one of them before our orbit moves us too far away! Aim for the Geonosis system!" Lok smiled as he gave out his orders.

Droids were calculating the new targets with a massive computer. There were some nemoidians supervising the droids and...slaves.

The slaves were constantly exposed to the gun's heat, suffering burns as they carried large canisters of Tibanna gas to reload the weapon.

"Slaves" Ahsoka's lip curled in disgust.

Rex's expression was even more disgusted "Clone slaves!"

"What!?" She looked further. They noticed that the slaves were not clone troopers, but a clone of a human male.

"They must have their own clone facility out here. A lone planet in the middle of nowhere, but self sustaining! Brilliant and horrible." Rex observed the rest of the area.

"We need to knock out the computer, and destroy the gun."

"What about the clones?" Ahsoka asked.

Rex looked at her "I don't know. They are a whole new wrench in the plans, and we must take care of one thing at a time."

They made their way quietly to an old store room and exited the vent.

"All these canisters" Ahsoka noted "They must be shells for the ammunition."

"That thing takes a lot of energy." Rex replied "Fives, Tup, with us. The rest of you keep guard of this point. This will be our escape."

Rex looked at Ahsoka "This is going to be tricky. So many clankers. We are going to have to get uncomfortably close to them to plant the explosives and blow this place up."

"Great!" Fives rolls his eyes "How are we going to do that?"

The four of them moved slowly, running into a clone slave who was takingh an inventory of the canisters.

He was just as surprised to see them as they were to run into him.

The clone slave was in his late 30s, blonde, with a short beard and mustache. He was not a design like the Kamino clones.

"You're not...one of them, are you?" The slave asked.

Rex shook his head gently, wondering how this would end. "No, we're with the Republic."

"You've come to free us?" The slave asked.

Rex and Ahsoka looked at each other.

"We need to stop that cannon. If we can drive the Separatists from this base, we can free you!" Ahsoka gently took the slave's arm, trying to give reassurance.

"We could disguise ourselves as slaves. Hide right out in the open."

Rex nodded. Fives and Tup followed as they made their way to the storage room door.

"What is your name?" Ahsoka asked the slave.

He looked at her, confused "We...don't have names. We are assigned a category number. So many of us die every year from the work and maintenance of the base, many die of Tibanna poisoning from constantly reloading the weapon. we don't have time for names."

"Gods of Kobol!" Rex exclaimed, shocked at the notion.

"I am designated THX-2302." The slave informed them.

Slowly, the slave led them down a hallway, careful to avoid random droids and Nemoidian officials.

"Is there a leader we could speak to? Who is in charge of the slaves?" Ahsoka asked.

"Father Ravishal" He replied. "He is the first, and the greatest of us all. His mind...it is beyond our abilities. He built the gun, but is kept in a prison."

Rex looked at the others "Hmm, maybe if we can free him, we could help free all the slaves here."

"It's risky" Fives commented "They'd need weapons. More importantly, they'd need motivation."

The slave led them to a corridor guarded by two Sep droids.

"We're going to have to stay quiet with this." Rex looked at Ahsoka. She smiled and gently caressed his shoulder as she moved forward towards the guards.

The Droids sort of "blinked" as they saw her approach.

"Hey, you're not one of the slaves! What's going on here?"

Ahsoka cut them down quickly without much noise.

"Father Ravishal is through here!" The slave activated the door.

An older man was seen pouring over notes and schematics, pondering intellectual endeavors. He looked up in surprise.

"2302! What is the meaning of this? Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Father, these people are here to stop the tyranny. They want to destroy the cannon!"

Father Ravishal looked at Ahsoka and Rex with absolute horror.

"You can't be serious! I designed that gun. It's my creation!"

Ahsoka tried to appeal to his human nature. "Father Ravishal...people are dying. The cannon is assaulting our ships from far away distances. We have to put a stop to it! Please. I know what it's like to create something, and to be very proud."

Ahsoka walked up to him "I know you are a genius, a brilliant mind. I hope that I can persuade you to put your brilliance into peace, not war."

Ravishal listened, and realized her sincere intentions.

Ahsoka continued and stood next to Rex with a smile. "There is so much beauty you can create. You AND your clones. They are also suffering. We can be of service. We can help, not enslave you like the Separatists. If we could help transport you and your clone children off this world, would you consider helping us save lives?"

Ravishal looked at her with deep thought. "I have always loved my inventions, but also my clones. You are right. They are my children, created from clone vats I designed when the Separatists came to me to build this super weapon. You are very brave to expose yourselves to me. If you will help save my children, I will do what I can."

They heard the cannon rumble, firing off another shot into deep space.

Father Ravishal gathered up his papers and schematics. "2302, help me gather up all my notes and paperwork.

Rex turned to Fives and Tup "Get ready, we're going to set that pulsar cannon ablaze! Fives, you and Tup will sabotage the super computer, while Ahsoka and I plant bombs on the gun. 2302 and Father Ravishal, I need you to create a distraction to lure the clones away from the gun room to safety."

"Roger that, sir!" Fives and Tup were given disguises by 2302, and readied themselves to sneak into the command center.

Ravishal went to a computer terminal "I can draw out the slaves. You will have about 10 minutes, though. Lok Durd will become suspicious if there is a lull in activity around the cannon. I can draw them away for ten minutes to a place safe from the destruction of the Pulsar, but after that Lok will demand we resume our duties."

"Ten minutes is all we need."

Rex and Ahsoka looked at each other, heightened by adrenalin as they caught their breath in this calm moment before the storm.

"I'm very proud of you, Ahsoka." Rex smiled intimately "You bring out the best in people. You have a great big heart!"

Ahsoka blushed and took his hand "I'm proud of you. Quick on your feet, you have a plan for every occasion. I could not be the person I am...if it were not for you."

"Let's go. We'll blow up this pulsar and be back home before dinner!"

Rex started to go, but Ahsoka halted him fast, pulling him in for a kiss.

It was a quick kiss, but Rex's heart almost burst from her trust and devotion conveyed in the kiss.

"That was for luck." Ahsoka blushed again. She crossed a boundary that would never be seen as acceptable by the Jedi or the command structure. Theirs was a love doomed by duty and strict ideologies.

But, here and now, in this quiet moment before all hell broke loose, it was perfect. It was a promise of life in the middle of danger.

Now Ahsoka turned to leave, but Rex halted her, returning the kiss, measure for measure.

They embraced with an intense grip, and a more meaningful kiss before pulling away.

"Good luck to you also, Commander." Rex replied in a sacred whisper

They wasted no further time.

Fives and Tup slowly worked their way to the computer, behaving like slaves delivering supplies.

Rex and Ahsoka waited until Father Ravishal called out to slaves for a special meeting.

Lok Durd looked up as he listened to Ravishal's announcement on the PA system. Though annoyed by the interruption, it was dismissed as a usual occurance for the slaves.

Rex and Ahsoka walked passed the exiting slaves.

"Give me the charges." Rex talked very quietly.

One of the droids noticed Ahsoka's form near the cannon. "Hey, you're much shorter than a regular clone. Are you a defect?"

The droid pulled back her hood. Ahsoka smiled.

"I'm the new kid, just got promoted. Job kind of sucks though!"

The droid stared at her dumbfounded.

"Heeeey, Wait a minute!" Ahsoka cut the droid in half as he was still figuring out that she was the enemy.

Lok Durd and others spotted Ahsoka, but by then the remaining Clone troopers hiding in the vents open fired into the facility.

Rex planted as many bombs as he could while staying under cover. Ahsoka blocked several blaster shots.

"FIVES! TUP! GET OUT OF HERE!" Rex called outFives started blasting droids while Tup finished planting bombs on the super computer.

"Right! We are all set here!"

Rex and Ahsoka were pinned down, almost surrounded by droids, but there was plenty of cover fire from the vents up above.

"Get out, everyone! The gun is going to blow!" Rex and Tup loked over at him with a desperate glance "You have got to be kidding sir!"

Fives and Tup opened up a path for Ahsoka and Rex to run back towards them. They break into a run, chased by droids.

Lok Durd runs in the opposite direction.

The entire mountain starts to shake as the explosions wrecked the cannon, and more explosion erupted as the tibanna encased shells exploded.

"Don't look back!" Rex made sure everyone made their way back to the vents.

Fires engulfed major parts of the base as the troops escaped outside and ran for the ship.

"Inform the fleet, we have destroyed the Ravishal Pulsar!" Rex called out.

Anakin smiled brightly as he saw Snips returning to the shuttle. He was laying down resting on a make shift gurney.

"What took you so long?" Anakin beamed.

Ahsoka smiled as everyone boarded the ship and they prepared for take off.

"The usual, held up by all this silly business with a cannon, enemy droids, this thing called the War..."

"A likely story!"

Ahsoka could sense he was relieved to see her back. They watched some more explosions from the mountain, and knew that this diabolical invention would never harm anyone else.

They also watched as Lok Durd's shuttle and a few other ships retreated from the planet.

Rex took Ahsoka to a comlink on the shuttle

"We'll inform the high command that the Separatists are evacuating the base and that there are people to be rescued. Professor Ravishal and his children will enjoy a new freedom on Coruscant."

"I hope you're right, Captain."

Rex turned to her, surprised at the sudden formality, but Ahsoka smiled. Her eyes spoke many things to him as she held his hand.

Rex sighed. "I suppose it'll all be business as usual when we return to our fleet and military base." He looked down a little, unable to figure out how to find the happiness he felt in his embrace with Ahsoka.

A lifetime of joy and love trapped in a single moment.

Ahsoka felt his heart and responded, knowing the ache in his heart. "Never give up. War may occupy our lives, but our minds and hearts are free. No one can stop us from dreaming. And no one cane keep dreams from coming true."

She smiled at Rex as the men were not paying attention. The shuttle hummed into hyperspace, back to the reality of war.

True to her word, Ahsoka pulled off Rex's helmet and kissed him one more time. War and reality would never stop the freedom they held in their hearts. Eve though they were separated by duty, their hearts became one, and no power in the universe could stop their happiness.