Rila: Alright, so I really have no idea where this came from, to be quite honest. No, wait - the fact that I just rewatched the entire first season? Mm, maybe. Still, how else to christen this account than with a Rex/Ahsoka one-shot?

Word Count: 3,564

Disclaim: I will own you someday. *shakes fist*

Strength in numbers.

She'd heard it somewhere before, but the finer details escaped her mind. It came to her now, such an odd snippet - and yet oddly appropriate, given the wave of droids that didn't seem to have an end in sight.

They were not much, just clankers - easy enough to dispatch, weaving through the blaster bolts aimed in her direction - but it was the sheer size of the group that had her strength waning and her hope for ending this battle quickly fading.

But it was not in her to give up hope so quickly, and with a fierce nod of her head to renew her conviction, she jumped back into the frey. Her fingers were beginning to cramp from where they gripped the cylindrical hilts of her lightsabres, but she pressed through it. She had faced worse - far worse.

Something like a muscle cramp was nothing. Sweat beaded on her forehead, dripping down the elaborate white markings on her face to fall off her chin. It did not help that the planet they were on had twin suns, much like her Master's homeworld of Tatooine.

Speaking of her Master, just exactly where was he? He was not within her range of vision, and she could hear little beyond the clankers and the return fire of blaster bolts from the clones behind her. The notion of keying her comlink to find him came to mind, but it was quickly erased when she swung her weapons to deflect a blaster bolt and slicing through the metal of yet another clanker.

Her Master was fine. He was, after all, The Chosen One, though she could see the dislike for the title in his eyes when he was addressed as such. It was a sensitive subject, the same as his past on Tatooine. She had asked him once, only to be told that he did not want to talk about it.

To her, at least. Master Kenobi knew about it - but it was impossible for him not to, as he had been the one to mentor him. Though she knew that it was a normal and justifiable reaction, it stung that he didn't trust her enough to tell her.

He did put trust in her, however, and it'd shown when he'd allowed her to take Rex and several of the others in the Torrent Company with her to scan the other side of the planet. What they had found were the clankers, and thus had begun what was an ongoing battle.

Exhaustion was causing her to falter, and she narrowly avoided having her left montral hit with a blaster bolt as she ducked and rolled, coming up to slice through the clanker with an upward slice of her shoto. Weilding dual lightsabres definately came in hand when faced with an enemy this large, though it had its drawbacks as well.

She would be the first to admit that her defensive and offensive maneuvers were getting sloppy as exhaustion took its toll upon her, her chest heaving with the effort it took to bring air back into her lungs and her muscles pleading for a reprieve.

Blinking green light brought her attention to her comlink, sensitive hearing zeroing in on the voice of her Master. "Ahsoka? Ahsoka, can you hear me?"

"Master," she called, relief chasing away some of the worry that had been shaping shadows of doubt in her mind. His safety was one of her priorities, and she'd found herself battling the concern for him just as hard as she'd been with the droids. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Snips." The use of his nickname for her proved it before he continued, "Where are you?"

"Neck deep in droids," she commented flatly, "so we could really use some help."

"On our way," came the swift reply, all hints of teasing and affection gone. Gone was the slight glimpse of their brother-sister relationship, replaced with the General in charge of the mission. Concern, however, remained in his voice as he added, "Be careful, Snips."

Though she was tired and wanted nothing more than to sleep for a standard month, she couldn't help but offer a tired smile that he couldn't see and answer, "You got it, Skyguy."

It was not a name she used for him unless they were alone, as she would surely be reprimanded for it. He, on the other hand, had no reservations in calling her 'Snips' in public, though he was the Master and thus had more leeway than she did. Regardless of the fact that it sounded foreign to say it in such a place, it was the only thing she could think of to assure him that she was truly alright.

The comlink fell silent after that, and she darted back towards the clones, kicking pieces of droid out of her way as she went. "We've got backup coming," she told them, strength returning even as she spoke, "so just hang on a bit longer."

"Yes, sir!" Came the reply, and she was reminded of why she put so much faith into the troops under her command. Their trust was something that she cherished, and she wanted to keep their faith in her strong, just as she did for them.

"Commander." The call came from Rex, and she turned, finding him pointing in the direction of where the droids were beginning to lessen, heavy wave slipping into a light trickle. Perhaps they wouldn't need Master Skywalker's help after all.

And that was when she saw it - it was not unfamiliar, and before she could really take an assessment of her own actions, she had both lightsabre and shoto lit and she was bounding for it, slicing her way through the clankers as she went.

The moment of reprieve - though it had been just that, a fleetingly brief span of seconds - did more for her than anything else could have, her muscles ceasing the spastic seizures as she moved along, leaping for the tank. Her exhaustion had not completely deserted her, however, as she found it oddly difficult to scale the smooth exterior.

It was easy enough to open the lower hatch with the Force, reaching into the pouch at her belt to toss an activated droid popper into the compartment and shutting it before the droid could react. Leaping up further, she moved to do the same, head throbbing with the use of the Force. That settled it. As soon as she and the others were back on the Resolute, she would go to her room and sleep.

It would not matter that she was covered in dirt and grime and all sorts of things, or the fact that her Master would want her to be looked over by a medical droid - all that would matter was that she and her soldiers had made it back safely, and she could rest in peace.

Slamming shut the hatch, she leapt for the protruding cannon, meaning to leap off of it and away from the perameter in which pieces would go flying - but she fell short, and she was thankful that she had clipped her lightsabre and shoto to her belt as her hands gripped the cold durasteel.

She dangled like that for a moment, grappling with the nature of gravity and the need to keep from being trampled by the tank. She could hear the beeping of the bombs, and she knew that she would have to make a split second decision.

Broken bones, she decided, were better than being blown up. She was preparing to let herself drop when a call of "Commander!" reached her ears, blue eyes sliding to the left as Rex leapt onto the moving tank, throwing himself forward to pull her off the cannon.

There was the stomach-lurching sensation of falling before they both hit the ground, forcing air from Ahsoka's chest. Rex's arms had curled around her protectively as they fell, but they did little to stop her back lekku from connecting with what was definately a rock, wrenching a cry from her that she could not stop.

They had begun to slow their tumbling, but the resulting wave from the explosion sent them further, momentum carrying them down what felt like a steep slope. Over and over they rolled, and though his plastoid armor was meant to absorb blows, she could not help but feel guilty as Rex curled around her, trying to shield her the best he could.

They finally came to a complete stop, though neither of them moved as both sought to regain a proper breathing pattern. Once she had done so and stopped her head from spinning, Ahsoka moved away from Rex and tucked her legs beneath her. She didn't trust herself to stand at the moment, her back lekku throbbing and making her bring a hand back to feel the extent of the damage.

It was tender, but there was not the warmth of blood as her fingers grazed over it, though she was unable to keep from flinching as her fingers found a particularly sensitive place.

"Commander?" Rex's voice brought her back from her self-assessment, her attention focusing upon the Captain.

"Are you alright, Rex?"

There was a soft noise that might have been laughter or a sigh before he replied, "With all due respect, Commander, I should be asking you that."

Ahsoka's back lekku was still throbbing, but she forced herself to shake her head. "I'm fine. Are you?"

"I'm a clone, Commander. I was created for this sort of thing. Well," he corrected, head tilting to observe the steep walls of a rocky ravine that surrounded them on both sides, "not this, but this." He gestured to the scrapes on his armor, and Ahsoka frowned.

"That wasn't what I was asking." They were friends, and so Ahsoka didn't understand why he was still so reluctant to give her honest answers. Well, he did, but not when it concerned his wellfare or how he felt about things. "If I have to ask again, it'll be an order."

This time the noise was undoubtedly a sigh, and Ahsoka couldn't help the grin that spread across her lips as he replied, "I'm fine."

"Good," she said, and turned her attention to the situation at hand, her hands going to her hips as she observed the vines that ran along the walls, and then to the sky above. The twin suns did little but remind her that they were on an unfamiliar planet, and that the remaining soldiers had no doubt noticed their sudden disappearance in the wake of the tank explosion.

Bringing her attention to the comlink on her arm, she keyed it, only to get a high-pitched whine and the crackle of static before the light shorted out, leaving her to stare at it before she exhaled, unable to keep the attitude out of her voice as she said, "Great."

"Calm down, kid." Rex's voice was level in comparison to her growing irritation, and she watched as he keyed his own comlink. Silence reigned for a moment and then he said, "We're out of range."

Ahsoka wanted to scream in frustration at their luck, but curtailed it with the realization that they wouldn't be in said situation were it not for her clumsiness. Guilt-ridden, she turned. "Rex, I'm sorry."

"Stop, Commander." There was an edge to his tone, one that was similiar to the tone Anakin used when scolding her. It made her flinch, lowering her gaze to the ground. She didn't lift it, not even as footsteps approached her and a gloved hand landed on her shoulder. "What's done is done, Commander. No use in worrying about it."

"Jedi are taught not to regret the past," she said before she could stop herself, then lifted her gaze to smile sheepishly. "Guess I haven't gotten that part down just yet." Eager to get away from the subject, she walked forward before placing her hands on her hips. "Now...how to get out of here."

"Climbing, sir?" The suggestion was posed as innocent, but there was a hint of teasing in it, and she could have sworn that he was smiling beneath that bucket of his as she rolled her eyes.

"Haha," she said, tone flat, "very funny." He had a point, however, and she moved forward, shaking her head when he took a step forward to join her. "No sense in us both doing this if it doesn't work." Her eyes scanned the wall of jagged stone before her, searching for any sort of handholds. Finding none, she frowned - despite the way pieces of rock jutted out in different places, she could see that it was loose and would crumble swiftly beneath her weight. A glimpse of green caught her eye, and she found herself staring at a vine. "This might work."

The end of the vine was easy enough to grab, and she glanced up the impressively sized wall before planting her feet flat against the bottom, using her weight to hold herself as she began to scale the wall. It was tedious and her arms burned, a reminder that she had not regained all of her strength from the battle. It was halfway up the wall that a rumbling began, and she paused, head tilting before she turned, snapping a quick, "Rex! Get back!"

Later, she would blame exhaustion for her lack of observation through the Force, but for now she settled for catapulting herself away from the wall and landing on the ground, lightsabre and shoto lit. Rex already had his dual DC-17s drawn, and both stared as the rock began to crumble. It was like an avalanche - slow at first, gaining momentum until boulders that could easily crush them both began forming, hitting the ground with heavy force.

In hindsight, they both should have expected it. The planet was unfamiliar, but the oxygen-mix that it held was able to sustain life. Sustaining gigantic flowers with rows of razor sharp teeth, on the other hand, was another thing. Two stalks rose from the curved surface of the creature's 'head', and Ahsoka took the swiveling that they did as a type of 'eyes' for the creature. It roared, making her montrals ring with the volume before she turned, deactivating her lightsabre and shoto. "Run!"

Where to, Ahsoka was not sure, only focused on keeping out of reach of the creature that was bellowing in a horrifying way. It was not that she didn't want to stay and fight it - but the rational side of her (nurtured by Master Kenobi, as her Master had the same tendencies as she did) said that it would be better to find somewhere safe and observe the plant before rushing in to eliminate it. Rex didn't object, and for a moment, she was reminded of her reckless behavior at Skytop Station, when she had idiotically told him and the men with her to attack General Grievous. She'd come along way from then - or so she liked to think.

There was, oddly enough, a cave at the end of the ravine, and it was unspoken that they should to reach it. Throwing in the last of her strength to give her a boost of speed, she came to a screeching halt just inside the mouth of the cave, Rex sliding to a halt as well. The plant creature had stopped, but Ahsoka didn't like the fact that two thick tendrils were reaching up. Warily, she took a step backwards.

For the second time, rocks began to fall, this time clattering around the mouth of the cave. It was then that Ahsoka came to a horrible realization that the creature was trying to trap them, and she threw her arms forward, palms extended towards the creature. Exhausted, her use of the Force was feeble and did little to stop the rain of stones that began to collect, swallowing them into darkness. The roar of the creature was muffled now, and Ahsoka strode towards the newly constructed wall.

"Great," she said, fingers sliding over one of the boulders, "we're away from that thing, but now we're stuck."

"It beats getting killed, sir." The hiss of pressurized air made her turn, and she found Rex pulling off his bucket to sweep a hand over his closely-cropped hair.

"True," she admitted, drawing her gaze away from the Captain as she reached for her belt. "But I think we could do with a bit of light." She activated her lightsabre, shoto still clipped at her hip. There was no need to bring them both out, the bright green glow of her sabre did enough. It cast an eerie green glow upon Rex's face, and she wondered if it did the same to her. The humming was familiar and comforting as she brought it over, shadows receeding as she let her gaze roam.

The cave was deeper than she had initially thought, and her sensative hearing could pick up the babble of water flowing, which, depending on how long they were stuck within the cave, could prove to be useful. Cones of glittering stone jutted from the ground and the ceiling, and she eyed them with curiosity. "What are those?"

"Stalagtites and Stalagmites, sir. Mineral-heavy water formed them." It was obvious that he recalling information that had perhaps at one point scrolled down the inside of his bucket. She smiled.

"You know everything, don't you Rexter?"

His mouth twitched into what might've been a smile before he sobered, shaking his head. "Not everything, Commander."

"Ahsoka." He turned to her, and she met his gaze. "We'll probably be here for a while, Rexter. So the least you can do is call me by my name." The look on his face was that of someone who was uncomfortable, and she noted that he had only ever called her 'sir', 'Commander', or 'Kid'. He had never addressed her by name, nor had he done so with her Master.

"Yes, s-" She gave him a look, and he corrected himself. "Ahsoka."

Her mouth twitched. "That's better." She took a couple of steps forward, holding her lightsabre aloft to illuminate her path. Rex was not far behind her, and she scanned the curved walls and damp ground. "There doesn't seem to be anything in here, save for a stream."

"A stream?"

She nodded. "I heard it earlier, and..." She lowered her lightsabre, the light catching on the faint line of water that twisted and rippled with current. The line widened the further it went, and she had no doubt that it emptied out into a pool of some sort. Filing it away for later use, she stepped to the side and turned, promptly lowering herself onto the ground with a sigh. "Well," she began, "this'll make an interesting report." If we get back, she added silently and then frowned. No. When we get back.

Having seated himself not far from where Ahsoka was, Rex watched her expression change. It was not difficult to tell what she was thinking, though he found it concerning to see the faint glimpse of doubt - in his experience with her, Ahsoka rarely doubted herself, choosing to put her faith wholeheartedly into whatever had warranted it. The few times that he had seen it, it had made her look small and terrified. He hadn't liked it back then, and he didn't like it now. Opening his mouth to say something - anything - to erase that look from her face, he fell silent when her expression changed into the confident determination that he knew so well.

His connection with the young Togrutan was not strange, given the time that they had spent together. General Skywalker often left him to look after her when he could not, trusting him to keep her out of trouble. He had balked at first - not that he would ever admit it to Ahsoka, much less the General -, thinking her to be worse than a shiny. She had proven him wrong, however. She'd come along way from when she'd first become a Padawan, and he was nearly surprised at how fond the thought was.

Ahsoka's hand came up to her mouth, and he caught the yawn that she was trying to stifle. "Tired?"

It was obviously a rhetorical question, and his mouth curved upwards when she stuck her tongue out at him and brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them before laying her head upon them. Her lightsabre lay beside her, and almost as an after thought, she deactivated it, blanketing them both in darkness. "Good night, Rexter."

He didn't answer right away, and when he did, she was already asleep. "Good night, Ahsoka."