Work Text:
Rex could probably pinpoint the exact moment his general fell in love.
It had been a brutal campaign, one of the worst in recent memory. Fighting to overtake some crucial trade outpost in the middle of nowhere. Things bled together inside Rex’s mind on these relentless trips. Anakin and the 501st had stepped in for the 212th after they had to pull out.
His general was impatient for a quick victory. They all were. No one wanted to lose, but the plan Skywalker had cooked up was essentially a suicide mission. The Naboo senator that had been on their ship before the 501st had to make the emergency detour clearly agreed with Rex. He had never seen the man lose his calm demeanor before, but this was as close to being furious as Kenobi had ever gotten in Rex’s presence.
“It’s the easiest way to take the base,” Skywalker insisted stubbornly.
“The easiest way isn’t always the best way,” Kenobi replied, his usually pleasant voice gone hard, “your men are not Jedi, they can’t perform those fancy stunts of yours. They’re soldiers. Your mindset should not be that of a Jedi when you’re ordering these men to their deaths, it should that of a general, and a general should always mitigate loss to the minimum.”
“What do you know about military tactics, Senator Kenobi?” Anakin demanded aggressively.
“More than you do,” He said coldly, “Captain Rex's plan is clearly superior. Shooting it down because of pride and impatience is foolhardy.”
“You shouldn’t even be here,” The Jedi snapped. He turned to Rex, “get him on a transport back to Coruscant, Rex.”
“Captain, you know I am right,” Kenobi said the moment they were out of earshot. His blue eyes were blazing with frustration, “he is an inexperienced child playing the role of commander, and he’s going to get your men killed with that reckless flaming garbage he calls a plan.”
“Yeah,” Rex heaved a sigh and rubbed at his tired, aching eyes, “but I don’t call the shots around here, sir.”
“Besides, this trade post is deep within the Confederacy, all the planets nearby have pledged their allegiance to the Separatists cause, why waste the resources to defend it?” Kenobi asked the burning question that had been plaguing Rex for past few days. "Even if the Republic manages to hold the post, trade ships wouldn’t dare venture here. Captain Rex, who did you say the order came from?”
“The fleet admiral said Chancellor Palpatine insisted,” Rex answered, guiding the senator into the main hanger where the rest of the 501st were waiting. He beckoned Tup and Dogma over, “the general wants Senator Kenobi back on Coruscant.”
Rex didn’t trust any of the other boys in his team not to immediately roll over when it came to Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Naboo senator pretty much had Hardcase, Jesse, Fives, and Echo wrapped around his little finger at this point. Rex felt a small stab of longing. Gods, it would have been glorious to serve under the organized command of someone like Kenobi. Fox was a lucky bastard.
“Go,” He emphasized when Dogma and Tup didn’t move.
“Captain, unpopular opinion here, but could we maybe keep the senator onboard?” Fives asked. That was a blatant lie. It was clearly the popular opinion, because deep-down, Rex wanted the same thing.
“I second that,” Hardcase called out amongst the nods, “regardless of the consequences!”
“That would be a violation of General Skywalker’s explicit orders,” Rex glared at him, feeling like a lying hypocrite. Dogma was wringing his hands nervously, his gaze darting between Kenobi and Rex.
“And good soldiers follow orders,” The words slipped out subconsciously. Rex used to say that to himself whenever he doubted the commands from above. He thought of that less and less nowadays, but Kenobi’s entire demeanor shifted.
“I’m staying,” He muttered, expression hardening. “Good soldiers also know when to deviate when it is apparent that their general is an idiot. If you get into trouble, blame it on me.”
“Uh, sirs,” Jesse’s voice piped up from where he was peering out of the transparisteel port view, “I think General Skywalker just took a one-man fighter down to the trade station by himself.”
Yup, sounded about right for the hero with no fear. No, scratch that, the suicidal maniac with no brain and the attention span of a hyperactive three-year-old.
“Alright,” Rex sighed, feeling like he’d age twenty years in an hour, “gear up, boys.”
[PRIORITY_ALERT_RE:CC-1010]
CC-1010 (Fox): Captain Rex, you will NOT let Senator Kenobi lead Torrent Company into an enemy trade outpost. He is a Republic senator and does not hold authorization to command a GAR military unit. Do you hear me? Respond immediately, CT-7567.
Kriffin' hell.
Rex glanced up from the angry priority alert message flashing on his wrist comm and yelled at his troopers, “which one of you little traitors sent Commander Fox a message just now?”
Everyone paused before turning to Dogma as one. The poor boy froze in the middle of cramming his bucket onto his head and flushed deep red.
“Really?” Jesse groaned. “Come on, vod. What is wrong with you?”
“He made me promise to keep an eye on Senator Kenobi and report back any violations,” Dogma wailed, his lower lip wobbling dangerously in distress. “I didn’t have a choice, sir.”
“Let me speak to Fox,” The senator said from where Hardcase was helping the man into a spare set of his armor. Rex scanned the slew of escalating messages from the head of the Coruscant Guards and bit back an annoyed growl. He was threatening to court-martial the entire Company.
CT-7567 (Rex): Calm your tits, Commander. The senator wants to speak with you. I’m opening the comlink. Standby.
He removed his wrist comm and handed it off to Kenobi before turning to Dogma. “First rule in my battalion, kid. You don’t do shit like this behind my back.”
“But the regulations—”
“No buts, you’re in the 501st, you report only to the commander of the 501st, understood?” Rex repeated, looming over their most junior member, “everything goes through me first. I’m doing this to protect you, Dogma. Fox isn’t a part of this team, he’s an outsider. A freaking mindless, bureaucratic—”
“Captain Rex, we can proceed,” Kenobi interrupted, handing back his comm and wandering back to Hardcase for the rest of the armor.
“What?” Rex blinked, taken aback at the quick acquiescence. He looked down at the chat log.
CC-1010 (Fox): Rex, I swear to the Gods if there is a single scratch on that Naboo senator when you get back, I will court-martial your asses so hard you’ll be—
“Oh, fuck off,” Rex muttered, turning off the comm.
“Hmm, these are heavier than I expected,” Kenobi murmured, peering down at himself, “you boys have amazing stamina, running around in this armor all-day long.” He patted Hardcase affectionately on the arm and turned to Rex, “so, Captain Rex, shall we?”
“What’s the plan, sir?” Rex asked, not quite able to keep the grin off his face.
It was one of best kriffing operations Rex had been a part of in a long time. Torrent Company worked together like a dream under Kenobi’s orders. He wasn’t a Jedi, so he was well aware of their physical limitations and adjusted accordingly. The senator actually listened to Rex and didn’t cut him off in the middle of an explanation.
The ARC-troopers in Rex’s team took care of the mass of battle droids still actively patrolling the trade station’s exterior on jetpacks. Kenobi stuck with Rex as they followed the burning trail of destruction leading into the compound. It looked like his general had succeeded in gaining access, but judging by the wild lightsaber slash marks on the walls, there was probably more than one Force-user here.
“Ventress,” Kenobi confirmed when they took out the patrolling droid with their blasters. He seemed very accustomed to using a gun. The man had never divulged his past with the 501st, but Rex could tell he had some form of elite military training in the past. Perhaps he had served on Naboo. It would explain why Kenobi confessed he felt more at ease squatting in the trenches with the clone troopers than at a fancy dinner party on Coruscant.
Anakin was on one knee in the corner of the generator room when they finally located him. The Dathomirian woman stood over him, her bright red blade burning hot. His lightsaber was lying a few feet from Rex, powered off and useless. She turned at the sound of footsteps and spotted them. Ventress bared her teeth and leapt at them. Kenobi shoved Rex out of the way, the Sith blade hissing as it cut through the metal floor where he had been standing just a second ago.
He crawled upright just in time to see Kenobi grab Anakin’s lightsaber off the ground. He switched it on and sloppily parried the heavy blow from Ventress. Her eyes widened for a split second, surprised fascination registering on her face before the senator reached down for the second blaster in his holster and shot her at blank range. It all happened so fast. She stumbled back with a snarl of pain, one hand clutching her abdomen.
Then, Rex’s general lifted both hands and shoved the Sith apprentice off the generator platform with the Force. Kenobi rose to his feet, powered off the saber, and tossed it at Skywalker.
“Still prefer a good blaster gun,” He confessed, holding out a hand to Rex and pulling him up, “you alright there, Captain?”
“Peachy, sir,” Rex replied.
Anakin was staring at them with his lips slightly parted. “Hardcase? Is that you—”
“Guess again, General Skywalker,” Kenobi said with a soft laugh. He took off the helmet and ran a gloved hand through his messy hair, “I see why most of you prefer to keep your hair short, Captain Rex.”
And there it was, that stupefied look on Anakin’s face. Rex would like to think that was the exact moment in time when his stubborn general fell head-over-heels in love.
Their comlinks hissed and Echo’s voice came on, “Senator, Captain, Separatists’ ships approaching.”
“Commence phase two, Echo,” Kenobi replied, already sauntering toward the exit, “Rex and I have your general. Tell Hardcase and Jesse to finish what they're doing. Everyone rendezvous back at the ship in ten.”
“Copy that,” Echo said. The line went silent.
“Come on, captain,” The senator said, “we need to go.”
Anakin was still staring.
“Need a hand?” Rex prompted him.
“What?” Skywalker asked dumbly.
“You guys rigged the outpost full of bombs?” Rex hissed at Hardcase and Jesse the moment they were alone.
The ensuing explosion had taken out two of the Separatists' ships and eviscerated the trade post station.
"There were some explosives on the compound already. We didn't really have to do much," Hardcase shrugged, his cheeks bulging as he shoveled food into his mouth. Jesse was playing some stupid game on a datapad, his head pillowed on Hardcase’s shoulder. They didn’t seem very concerned about the illegal act, probably because they didn’t have to deal with the paperwork that came with it.
“What the hell am I going to write on that post-mission report?” Rex sighed, taking a seat opposite them in the mess hall and burying his face in his hands. The excitement of a successful mission was starting to wear off.
“You could ask Commander Fox for some tips,” A soft amused voice said from the doorway. Rex turned to find the Naboo senator standing there, back in his fine expensive robes. He looked great either way, but Rex liked the bone white armor on the man more.
“What does that mean?”
Kenobi sat down and brushed a stray spot of dirt off his sleeve, “He’s an expert at doctoring reports by now.”
No karking way, Rex thought, there was no way in hell Fox would purposefully lie on an official report.
“What are you playing?” Kenobi asked Jesse. The trooper shuffled over and started explaining the game to the senator. Rex watched them for a while, Jesse’s delighted laughter a pleasant background noise as the two started a new match with some poor trooper from the 41st on the other side of the galaxy.
Rex pulled up the private chat on his comm and entered a message.
CT-7567 (Rex): Hey Fox, you there?
The reply was almost immediate even though it was well past midnight on Coruscant.
CC-1010 (Fox): What happened? There had better not be a single scratch on him, CT-7567.
CT-7567 (Rex): Yeah, yeah. Not a hair out of place. We’re on our way back.
CC-1010 (Fox): Good. What do you want?
CT-7567 (Rex): Uh, I need to write a post-mission report...
CC-1010 (Fox): Kark it. What did Kenobi do this time?
CT-7567 (Rex): He...might have instructed my men to blow up the trade outpost we were supposed to take from the Separatists and shot that crazy bald Sith woman in the stomach with a blaster.
CC-1010 (Fox): HE DID WHAT?
CT-7567 (Rex): Is your trackpad malfunctioning?
CC-1010 (Fox): ...
CT-7567 (Rex): So…got any advice on how to spin it so that we are not arrested by your men the moment we land?
CC-1010 (Fox): Send me your finished report. I’ll see what I can do.
CT-7567 (Rex): Thanks, vod.
CC-1010 (Fox): Ugh.
“Senator?”
Rex looked up from the comm messages and found his general standing there, his expression uncharacteristically solemn for a change. Hardcase lifted his head from where he was steadily dozing off in the crook of his elbow and blinked. Jesse pressed pause to their game.
“Yes, general?” Kenobi asked in a level voice.
“You were right,” Anakin admitted in the silence. Rex’s Jedi took a seat next to him and addressed the senator, “Teach me, Obi-Wan. Show me how to refine our attack strategies and keep my boys safe.”
Rex stared wordlessly at him, feeling a little shell-shocked that someone as proud as Skywalker would openly admit to any inexperience and inadequacy when it came to running the 501st.
“Actually listening to your captain’s suggestions would be a good start,” The senator murmured, glancing at Rex’s stunned expression with a small smile.
“Sorry Rex,” Anakin said, biting his lip. “It won’t happen again. I swear.”
“No worries, sir,” Rex managed to say, patting the young general awkwardly on the back.
“See, captain,” Kenobi murmured, stroking his beard, “you can teach a stubborn dog new tricks.”
The tips of Anakin’s ears reddened beneath those flyaway brown curls.
“I am only joking, General Skywalker,” The senator said gently, meeting Skywalker’s flustered gaze with kind eyes, “it would be an honor to help out in any way I can.”
Oh yeah, and there was that hopelessly enamored expression again, Rex thought with some amusement. But maybe that was a good thing. His chaotic general certainly needed a firm guiding hand at times, and who better to provide that mentorship than Senator Kenobi?
Zero casualties, Wolffe had gloated after the Wolfpack’s second mission with Kenobi. Now Rex could boast the same thing on top of destroying two Separatist starships.
Perhaps Obi-Wan Kenobi really was their good-luck charm.