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The problem is that his General knows him, Rex thinks, the Jedi’s eyes slightly narrowed but not quite in distrust, as he asks “is that everything?”
Rex wants to say “no, it’s Echo, it might be my little brother. This isn’t just my tactics but an algorithmic counter that I made to counter the Republic’s every possible move, to try and make us better . That I made with Echo and with Fives and we were right there when Fives died in my arms but we never found Echo’s body .” He never could have said it like that, but he could have said… something. Anything.
Before.
But here’s the thing.
It’s Echo.
It had been Fives .
And you know what? Fives and the General had not been any form of subtle, at least not to those who knew them. The General wasn’t much subtle with Senator Amidala, either, but that was besides the point.
Anakin Skywalker had not only trusted and respected ARC Trooper Fives, but he’d loved Fives. And since his General was a damn good one and Fives was happy, Rex had accepted it without a word.
And yet.
And yet!
And yet when Fives had, yes crazily, yes disjointedly, begged them for help and explained the chips (the chips , and of course Rex knows where that should go in his General’s mind after years of working with him), Anakin… had not believed him.
Had not listened to him.
Had called him crazy.
And it’s not like he’d been wrong. If his General’s degeneration hadn’t increased just slightly after Fives’ death, maybe. But it had. The war was dragging them all down but the Jedi hadn’t been trained to handle it.
(For all that shutting down his emotions and worries is “handling it”, Rex doesn’t think.)
And that right there is just another reason to not say the truth.
And he remembers Umbara, too. Some secrets should be kept.
So he says “no, sir.”
(And he pretends it doesn’t feel like another nail on an unknown coffin.)
“[You knew, didn’t you?]” Anakin asks him in their language, after the fact. Rex freezes even though asking in such a way means that he’s been given the option to give absolutely nothing. The hallway is empty, for a moment, which is a minor, but convenient, miracle.
He has no obligation to answer when Anakin asks as such.
And yet, because he asks as such, Rex answers.
“[I did,]” he says. “[But I worried that the Generals would think I was crazy.]”
Anakin, at least, visibly flinches.
“Oh,” he says. “[I suppose I deserve that… I’m sorry, Rex, but… but he couldn’t have been right, not about the Grandfather!]”
“The Chancellor, ” Rex replies. “Is hopefully not what Fives said. [But Anakin, you of all people should listen to what he said about chips.]”
Anakin blinks.
“Chips?” He asks, bracing on a wall as the other hand goes to his head. “I…”
And then the General looks at him as if he doesn’t see him, and that’s more terrifying than anything else could ever be. He doesn’t even say anything more before he just… walks away.
Later, he seems to have forgotten the conversation completely.
(Years later, Ahsoka clings to him like a lifeline and says, as if she can’t believe her own words, “I think Anakin is Vader”, in 500 variations and multiple languages.
And Rex is many things. Angry, hurt. Worried for Ahsoka, as always. Wondering how it happened, when his General had seemed almost better as the war neared its end, as Ahsoka returned and a hopeful end came.
But most of all, worst of all?
He is not surprised.
Not at all.)