Commander (n.)

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Star Wars: The Clone Wars or any related titles, properties, characters, plots, etc. These rights are the sole property of George Lucas, Dave Filoni, the Walt Disney Company, and their various publishers and distributors. I own only the original elements of this story, the writing and publishing of which earn me no money.

It started as a simple word, one mentioned during flash training as part of a long list of ranks in the military. If he had any true association with it, it was only that it seemed far from his reach, but CT-7567 - or Rex, as he soon became known - was filled with determination. Someday, he wouldn't in flash training or on Kamino. He wouldn't be a shiny anymore. He would be a real soldier, and after that...

Commander.

…

As he worked his way through the ranks of the Grand Army of the Republic, 'Commander' no longer seemed like an unattainable goal. His first few battles had brought him acclaim, set him apart from the identical mass of his vod'e, and he had not allowed that recognition to fade in the following missions. Instead, he was steadily gaining ground on the rank. If he managed to survive a few more battles with the clankers, it would be a reality.

Commander Rex had a nice ring to it.

…

"Okay, men," General Skywalker began, pacing back and forth in front of his troops. The Jedi seemed to always be in motion. At first meeting, Rex had believed it to be a case of nerves, but after spending only a few minutes in Skywalker's presence, he knew better. The General wasn't constantly moving because he needed to work off nervous energy, but because he could scarcely hold himself in check. He was just that ready to tackle their next mission, as shown by his speech: "Taking Christophsis from the Separatists isn't gonna be easy, but the GAR chose us above all the other planetary landing battalions. Let's prove 'em right."

Not much of a speech, all things considered, but it did the trick for the men of the 501st. Even the inter-HUD chatter moved from anxious questions to confident bets on who could dismantle the most clankers. Rex shifted to the balls of his feet, squaring his shoulders. His men would take out as many clankers as they could, but he intended to best them all. If this mission was a success, the rank of commander was all but guaranteed to him. Skywalker had promised before the assignment was even handed down that a well-handled battle would be enough to give Rex that much-desired promotion.

Commander.

...

He had done everything right. Though it had broken something inside of him, Rex had arrested his vod, Slick, for conspiring against the GAR - the Republic as a whole, really - and what had it gotten him? The same title he'd had before, but with an added responsibility.

A kid.

Inside his helmet, HUD transmission firmly shut down for the moment, Rex let fly several curses in guttural Mando'a. Who thought it was a good idea to send a kid - a completely green kid at that - out into battle? The kriffin' Jedi, apparently.

She would be good for the General, as long as she didn't get herself blown up by rushing into a battle the way she had into the meeting with her Master. The first thing Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano had done after stepping off her transport was give Skywalker an insulting nickname. Strange kid, especially for someone who belonged to an order he had been told was filled with stuffy, rule-obsessed wizards. Maybe the Jedi couldn't handle the energy and pawned her off on the first person who needed a Padawan.

But then, the 501st was filled with misfits and oddities. The General himself was filled with so many attachments that Rex was shocked the Jedi didn't ban him from speaking to any being across the galaxy. All things considered, Padawan Tano was better suited to the Torrent Company than any other division.

Yes, she would be good for the newly-christened Skyguy, and for the men as well. He had already noticed an improvement in attitude with the addition of her confident and curious nature to their already… eclectic battalion. If she stayed, and he believed she would, Padawan Tano would become the new commander of the 501st. He couldn't bring himself to dislike the kid, either. He was a clone, and that meant he had a clear expiration date. A title as important as 'commander' should belong to someone with a little more staying power. He was disappointed, but the best way he could serve his general and his men was by helping the Togrutan female acclimate to her new position as painlessly as possible. Lives depended on it.

…

Rex was tired beyond any post-battle weariness he had ever experienced before. The Kaminoans had warned the clones during flash training, told them about the effects of mental warfare, but he had never believed that it could take such a toll. The effort of keeping Asajj Ventress from mind-tricking him into betraying his General and soon-to-be Commander had taken a toll. He was wracked with such intense fatigue that his muscles literally shook with the effort of standing.

Numbly, he set a course for his bunk aboard the Resolute. He had never believed so completely that his life had come to an end as when Ventress had held him at the end of her red lightsabers.

"..ex? Captain? Captain!"

Rex dimly became aware that someone had been calling after him for a few minutes, but it had never broken through the fog in his mind. With the weariness in his entire being, Rex was slow to turn and slower to salute. "Commander Tano."

She pulled a face, the markings on her cheeks and forehead moving oddly with the expression. "Please don't call me that, Captain. I'm a Padawan, not a commander."

"With respect, sir, if you choose to stay with General Skywalker, you're both."

She blinked at him and the sight of her eyes closing made his own ache all the more fiercely. "Did you need something, Commander?"

"Yes, Captain. I need to speak with you about your run-in with Ventress."

"I will record every detail in my initial report, which will be filed tomorrow, well within GAR guidelines."

Commander Tano frowned. "That's not what I meant. I want- I need for you to know that it was me. I'm the reason we didn't come back to save you from Ventress right away. I insisted that we save Stinky- I mean, Rotta. I made Skyguy stick with our mission and you almost died. A lot of men did die. He would have given up on everything else to come back and so many men would still be here. It's my fault. I just- I'm sorry."

The fog cleared from his head slightly, enough that he could stare at the Padawan. The Commander, he reminded himself. It was clear that the guilt was eating her alive. She had just come to the front lines, come from a life on Coruscant where clones were regarded as little more than droids made of flesh and blood. Why should she feel guilty?

"Listen, kid," he said gruffly, and her eyes lit with a spark of hope at the nickname. "That's why I think you're good for the General. He cares about his men and we respect him for it, but this is a war. The mission comes first, always, and if you had come back for us, the sluglet may have died and then where would we be?" Her lips quirked up and his did the same in reply. "It's a tricky balance to keep, but maybe working together will help both of you."

Those blue eyes began to shine and Rex fervently prayed to every god he could think of that she wouldn't cry. The Kaminoans had no flash training covering how to deal with a crying female. Thankfully, her voice was even when she spoke. "Thank you, Captain."

"You can call me Rex, sir," he offered, holding his hand out for her to shake. "Seems like we'll be working together for a while." She didn't move, staring at his hand instead. He softened his tone a bit before adding, "I hope so, anyway."

She smiled broadly at that and grasped his hand for a clumsy shake. "I hope so too." The silence threatened to grow awkward, but she dropped his hand and took a step back. "I'll let you get some sleep now. Thanks again, Rex."

Rex nodded and continued to his quarters. Maybe Commander Tano wouldn't be so bad after all.

...

"Did you see that, Rex?" the Commander asked excitedly, swiping dirt from her face with her forearm. "I took down three droids at once!"

"Yes, but you almost missed the one aiming at your back," Rex reminded, pausing in cleaning his deeces to make the point.

Far from discouraged, she only grinned saucily at him. "That's what I have you back there for."

Rex shook his head despairingly, but they both knew he was amused by her antics. General Skywalker's busy schedule and... ahem, involved battle plans often left the two working together and he had grown to respect Commander Tano's work ethic, spirited behavior, and caring nature. Her boundless energy made her exhausting to be around at times, but there was no one he would rather have at his back.

When had that happened?

"In all seriousness, little'un, that was some nice work. You're definitely getting better."

She sighed, growing visibly frustrated under the praise - an odd reaction for the flamboyant Togruta. "Could you tell Skyguy that? I've been asking him to let me dual-wield forever, but he says I haven't even mastered one blade yet."

"I'll talk to him, kid, but I know less about lightsabers than either of you. If you ever want to work on dual blasters, though…" He finished re-assembling his blaster and raised his eyebrows, pausing as if to offer her the weapon.

The Commander laughed. "I think I had better figure out the Jedi weapon before I try to branch out into clone territory."

"Fair enough," Rex conceded, tucking the blaster in his empty hip holster. "I have to go work on my reports. See you later, Commander."

"I've told you a thousand times; call me Ahsoka!" she called after him and Rex grinned, confident she couldn't see him. No matter how much she hated the formality, dropping distance between a commanding officer and their subordinate was always a bad idea.

He hadn't been lying; she was indeed improving quickly. Frighteningly so, in fact. The young Padawan had adjusted so thoroughly to her reckless master that General Kenobi seemed prone to a fit, but no one could deny their effectiveness (efficacy? Efficiency?). The 501st was being sent on more missions than they ever had before and - though some of the other legions mocked them for answering to a teenager - Rex could see the pride his men felt for their pair of Jedi. It was a pride he felt himself.

And with a sigh of regret for the late night that would be required to finish his reports, Rex performed a quick about-face and went in search of General Skywalker. Surely it couldn't hurt to let the kid dual-wield under the watchful eye of her master?

...

"How long until it's fully healed, Kix?" Rex asked, pacing the floor until he was shocked he hadn't worn a path through the durasteel.

Kix answered belatedly, his entire attention focused on tucking in the ends of the gauze he had placed over the bacta patch on Commander Tano's arm. "Rough-edged cut, worryingly deep, significant burns and bruising on the surrounding skin. With the bacta? Probably a standard week or so."

"A week?" the commander groaned, disbelieving. "Maybe Barriss will agree to practice her force-healing on me. I need to be at peak performance for our next mission."

"You won't be-" Rex snapped before remembering that the girl outranked him. "Commander, you cannot seriously intend to come with us on that mission. You're injured."

"It's a scratch, Rex," she disagreed.

"I have to side with the captain on this one," Kix interjected. "A fraction deeper and this injury could have severed a number of tendons in your arm. Even Jedi have trouble healing from that."

"But it wasn't deeper," Ahsoka pointed out. "And I'm leading half the 501st when we attack the Seppie facility. If I don't go on this mission, Skyguy and Master Kenobi will have to create an entirely new plan of attack."

Kix shot Rex a sympathetic glance and packed his equipment. It was Kix's medical bay, but they both knew Rex wasn't going to let this go and the resulting argument could last for hours.

When the clone medic had safely fled the medbay, Rex turned to Ahsoka, knowing that his expression was dark but unable to change it. "Commander, we need to talk about the risk you took out there."

Ahsoka glanced up from her arm, narrowing her eyes already. "It's the same risk all of us take every day: step on the battlefield, fight as well as you can, and if you get the chance to save someone else, do it."

Rex had to admire how she came at him full-force. The kid she had been when she first joined the 501st would have feigned ignorance for a while before finally conceding to his point. The little'un had grown, and it was clear her argument was already planned out and locked down.

Doggedly, he continued undaunted. "You aren't supposed to take the same risks as the rest of us. The Jedi are leaders-"

"Yes," she interrupted, "and the Jedi - the ones attached to the 501st, anyway - lead by example. It's the Jedi standard."

"That may be so, but it's a bad battlefield practice. The heads of the chain of command have to stay alive long enough to formulate changes in plan or coordinate the attack efforts. We can't have you risking yourself for a single man."

"Rex, do you know why Skyguy trusts you so much?"

It was an odd change in conversational topic, but Rex was curious about where she was leading. "Because I've never failed him."

"Well, yes, but also because you've proven that you can think on your feet. My Master and I both have total confidence that, if we both fell, you would be able to 'formulate changes in plan or coordinate the attack efforts'."

Rex grimaced at having his words parroted back at him. "Even if that were true, how many men do you think would keep fighting after you or the General fell? Some would fight harder, maybe, but a lot of them would lose hope altogether. You are our leaders and we respect you too much to allow you to risk your lives without protest."

She stared at him, unimpressed. "Give me the name of a single 501st soldier who hasn't risked his life to help another man."

"That isn't the point, sir. No one is ever expected to enter a situation where they have little chance of surviving. The point is to reduce casualties, not trade lives."

To his surprise, Ahsoka laughed. "Rex, I've seen you sprint through Seppie fire to retrieve men who didn't think they were going to live. And you did it without any backup. Face it, I did what any soldier would do. The only difference is that I'm a Jedi, so my man-saving reach is a little longer than yours."

He would have dropped it, he really would have, but Ahsoka tried to cross her arms and stopped with a stifled gasp and a muscle spasm he knew had to be involuntary. In his mind's eye, he watched as she began to dismantle a super battle droid. Swinging in from the side, she had neatly sliced off both of the SBD's forearm blasters and was ready to put a saber through its head to fry the programming when Skid stumbled in their path. The droid, malicious in its own mindless, drone-like way, reached to attack him with what remained of its arms, but Ahsoka had stepped in the way first. She had blocked one arm, but the other swung in unnoticed. Not only had the jagged metal sliced deeply into her arm, but the metal still glowed red-hot from the blade of her lightsaber.

Rex had shot the super battle droid before it could do any further damage, but the smell of Ahsoka's burning flesh still haunted him, as did the cry she let out when the droid fell, ripping away the metal that had already fused to her skin. He had called Kix through his HUD system, but the young Jedi was already sprinting away, performing ridiculous and graceful acrobatics as she mowed a path through the droid army. Instead, Rex had only put the medic on standby for when the battle ended or the commander collapsed, whichever happened first.

"Commander… Ahsoka," he altered when she didn't respond to her rank. When her gaze met his own, he said sternly, "We need you and the General out there too much to allow you to take risks like that."

"Skid would be dead if I hadn't gotten in the way," she returned immediately. "A cut and some burns are worth it if it means our men survive."

Our men. Rex wanted to be angry. He had certainly been livid on the field at Ahsoka's reckless disregard for her own well-being, but he understood her reasons. Ahsoka Tano had built a reputation as a Jedi who fights for and alongside her men and - though she took some terrible risks for their sake - they would all cheerfully die for her in return.

Rex sighed, eyeing the confrontational tilt to Ahsoka's chin. "Just- promise me you'll be careful."

She smiled, gratitude and affection glowing in her eyes. "Oh, Rexster, when am I anything else?"

...

Commander Rex.

What had once sounded promising, sounded right, now made something inside of him ache until he never wanted to hear it again. Above all else, Rex was a soldier and that meant going, doing, and living as he was told. He had no say in the actions of his superiors, that was perfectly obvious, or Commander Tano would never have been accused, or tried, or found guilty and expelled. She never would have left and she wouldn't be off in the cold galaxy without him - without anyone - to watch her back. If he had his way, things would never have gone so terribly wrong.

He could still remember with aching clarity how his stomach had dropped after General Skywalker had gone to support Commander Tano in her appearance before the Jedi Council, the one after Barriss had been accused and found guilty. The general had confided in Rex that Ahsoka had been cleared of all charges and would be allowed to return to the Jedi Order. He had said, pride in his voice, that this would likely be considered her trials and she would be with them only briefly before she would be made a Jedi Knight and given her own company.

Rex had immediately formulated a plan to transfer into her company. Even after all that had happened, there was no Jedi he would rather serve under.

But the general had not returned with a bright-smiling Padawan behind him. Rather, he had stormed past Rex initially. Only Rex's confused, "Sir?" gained his attention.

"It's your lucky day, Rex. Looks like I can promote you to Commander after all."

That was it. There had been no further mention of Ahsoka, though her Padawan beads had dangled from General Skywalker's fist as he strode back toward the Jedi Temple. It had taken only hours for the 501st to learn the full story, as clones were trained to horde information and most had become terrible gossips.

'Commander' had become a haunted word since then. It had been two standard weeks since they were called back to Coruscant and told they were receiving mandatory planet-side duties while they processed the loss of their commander. In that time, the men actively avoided talking about her or even mentioning the rank, several conversations halting mid-stream as they remembered Ahsoka's involvement. Several of the men, Rex included, suffered even more because they knew the feisty commander so well and never had the chance to say goodbye.

"Rex?" General Skywalker asked, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the armrests of the well-padded chair Rex kept on the other side of his desk.

Rex shook his head, half to bring himself back to the moment and half in answer to the general's question. "I'm sorry, sir. I can't accept it. I- I would rather remain a captain for now."

Skywalker bowed his head briefly in acceptance. "I understand. You do know that this leaves an open position in the 501st?"

"I do, sir. If you decide to take another Padawan, I'll be happy to serve under them as a captain."

The general snorted, seeming in a lighter mood than he had been since Ahsoka left. "I don't think the Jedi Council wants me to take another Padawan just yet, especially considering how well I handled the last one."

"Comman- Ahsoka," Rex corrected himself, "was never one to be pushed into doing what she didn't think was right. She left because she has things to figure out, but you took her on when no one else even wanted to try. She never forgot that and I doubt she ever will. If your Padawan thinks you were a great Master, what does it matter what the Jedi Council believes?"

General Skywalker remained silent for so long that Rex began to worry he had spoken out of turn, but eventually, his gaze rose to meet Rex's. "I won't be taking another Padawan, Rex. I also won't be taking applications for a commander from another unit. If and when you want the position, it's yours. For now, the 501st doesn't need a new commander."

Rex nodded slowly and the general excused himself shortly afterward, leaving the clone captain to his thoughts. It was fitting in a way, he thought with a touch of amusement. He had waited so long, pushed so hard, all for a promotion he ended up refusing when it was offered. It was only sheer luck that he had a general who understood.

Rex had meant what he said; he wasn't ready to be a commander right now, not when the wound from Ahsoka's departure still ached.

Commander Rex would have to wait.

…

"Commander?"

Though it broke half of the regs he had drilled into his men, Rex tore off his bucket to stare at the flickering, bluish image of Ahsoka. She didn't disappear with his movement, instead giving him a ghost of the mischievous smile she had worn on a regular basis during her time with the GAR.

"Hello, Rex. I need to speak with Mas- with General Skywalker."

"I'll call him," Rex volunteered immediately.

Confusion crossed Ahsoka's matured face, framed by her more pronounced montrals and lekku. "Can't you just patch the transmission through to him? I don't have much time."

"Sorry, sir," he said, more out of habit than anything. "New regs."

"I understand. Would it be easier for me to contact you again in an hour?"

"No, transmissions are a little spotty here. Better that you just continue transmitting and hold the connection until the General can get here."

Rex hurriedly turned to the nearest vod he could find and signaled him to call the General. From the look on the man's face, he was dying to ask why Rex had lied about new regulations, but wouldn't do so in front of someone he wasn't sure was trustworthy. It was for the best anyway. Rex couldn't really tell a shiny that he only wanted to keep Ahsoka online so that he could be in her presence, even just over a hololink.

Besides, he reasoned, if Ahsoka was calling now, after all this time, it meant she needed something. He wasn't going to risk the general saying no. If Skywalker refused his former Padawan whatever she needed, Rex would help her himself. If he patched the transmission through to the main bridge of the Resolute, he would never know why she had called or what the general had said in response.

In any case, he felt a rare, blissful sense of serenity talking to Ahsoka. If she was here, the part of him that never stopped worrying about her safety could relax. It was a welcome break from the worry.

All too soon, his wrist communicator chimed. "Generals Kenobi and Skywalker incoming, Captain."

Rex frowned slightly but tried to keep the expression from lingering on his face. "The General will be here momentarily, Commander."

Ahsoka smiled slightly at that, but he didn't care for the expression - rather than the pure joy that had radiated from her even during the darkest of battles, her smile was now tinged with a grim sort of cynicism. "I'm not a commander anymore, Rex. I'm only surprised Skyguy didn't make you take the rank as soon as I left."

With a careless shrug, Rex drawled, "I like being a captain. Less responsibility. You know how I am under pressure."

"You mean rock-steady?" Ahsoka retorted with a lighter sort of smile. "You're the best man I know in a rough situation."

"I suggest you don't tell the General that when he gets here. Next thing you know, he'll be finding us a rough situation or two to prove himself…" Ahsoka laughed outright at that and the sound soothed Rex's frayed nerves. "And the reason I'm not lobbying for a promotion is because there is none to be had. The 501st already has a commander."

A furrow appeared between Ahsoka's white brow markings as she mused his words. "Who could be more worthy of the position than you, Rex? You're the best soldier I know!" Her offense on his behalf nearly made him smile, but Rex fought back the expression in case she mistook his next words as anything less than the solemn truth.

"It's you, Ahsoka. You may not be a commander for the GAR anymore, but you'll always be our commander."

Her montrals darkened but her eyes lit up with gratitude.

"All right, Rex," General Skywalker said impatiently, stepping through the door with General Kenobi in tow. "What's so important that you brought us all the way back here?"

Ahsoka turned in the holoimage, glancing back at the two new arrivals. "Hello, master. It's been a while."

It was lucky that the General was so focused on the image of his former Padawan, because Rex couldn't fight the smirk that flitted across his face. The Commander always did like to make a scene and he was glad he hadn't missed it, but he shouldn't have worried. From the look on the General's face, Ahsoka would get whatever she needed from the 501st.

Author's Note - Is anyone else super pumped for the last season of Clone Wars? I can hardly stand the wait! I mean, obviously, since the muse refused to write anything else until I jotted this down. I know it's short and a little choppy, but I'm trying to work on my one-shots. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it, please drop a review or private message if you have a moment. Let me know if there's something you would have liked to see or something you wish you hadn't. Have a great day!