Work Text:
They were pinned down. Their location was suddenly overrun with droids. Ahsoka was glad for the tree cover. The branches and thick forest may be the only thing keeping them alive at the moment.
Her ‘saber sliced through three droids and they clattered into the foliage as the smell of burning metal assaulted her nose. Blaster fire hit the tree to her right and she dove down behind the log at her feet.
“Rex, Master!” She screamed into her comm. “I’m pinned down, my troops need reinforcements!” Ahsoka didn’t breathe as she waited for the others to pick up. She only listened to the marching of droids and the blaster fire as it broke apart the trees above her.
“Ahsoka!” Anakin's voice finally came through on the other side. “We’re done on this front. I'll be there shortly. Just hold on! ” She let out the breath she was holding, the sound of her Master’s voice was comforting in this situation.
“Will do, Master. See you soon!”
“Commander!” Rex calls from the other line. “You and your men can retreat. Our maps show there's a thicker part of the forest just to your south. You can navigate it easily, but it’ll take those clankers a while to get through.”
Ahsoka looked to her south, the forest seemed to thicken in that direction. It was the best chance they had.
“We’ll head in that direction immediately. Thanks Rex!” She copied, before switching off her communicator and calling for her remaining men to retreat.
She watched them make a break for it, to the South. She followed closely behind them, watching their flank and deflecting the droids fire. There were a lot less men than she would have liked to see retreating. But, she had to save those that were with her now, so she pushed her guilt to the back of her mind.
Her feet began to stick into the mud as they continued their retreat. The blaster fire was letting up, the larger trees were taking most of the damage. Ahsoka noticed that this part of the woods was a swampy mess. You couldn't tell the vines apart from the snakes, and there was no dry ground in sight.
“Are you doing alright back there, Commander?” One of the clones closest to her stopped and looked back. She was trudging along through the mud and falling a bit behind her men. There was no paint on his armor or helmet. He was new. She smiled at him, pulling her leg from the hold of the mud.
“I’m alright, trooper.” She replied. “We just have to get-”
The red bolt went straight through his stomach. Ahsoka froze, sinking a few inches into the wet soil. She looked up, the rest of her men were already far enough ahead, out range. Thankfully. Another red blast shot past her head and she ducked just in time. The trooper clutched at his torso and fell to his knees in the mud. Ahsoka stumbled to his side and grabbed him around his chest, dragging him out of the mud and behind cover of a hollowed out tree trunk.
“C-commander-”
“It’s alright. Reinforcements are coming, we’ll get you a medic!” She said in a shaky voice, trying to force out a smile. More blaster fire hit the mud around them.
“I’m sorry.” The trooper's voice was weak, he was losing strength. Ahsoka grabbed onto his hand.
“No, hey stay with me!” She encouraged him, squeezing his hand. His grip was too weak. “Master! The droids caught up to us. A trooper and I are taking cover in the swamp. He needs serious medical attention!” She shouted into her comms.
“Almost there- stay low- medics…” But the signal was cut short and Anakin's voice was breaking up. Ahsoka caught the lump in her throat and pushed her fears aside in her mind. This was not the time to panic.
“Go on without me, Commander.” The clone's voice was weak. “I can’t take this anymore. The pain is too much. Just go.” Ahsoka let go of his hand, and reached up, taking the helmet off. He winced in pain, gritting his teeth and squinting his eyes. Ahsoka noticed that he had no tattoos, or any kind of scar or hair cut that made him stand out.
“Trooper?” She was afraid to ask. “What’s your name? What do your brothers call you?”
He sucked in a breath and Ahsoka avoided looking at the wound in his abdomen. “Don’t have one yet. This is,” he paused again. “This is my first mission.”
Her heart stopped, and a chill swept over her. He had no paint, no name, nothing to distinguish him by. The blaster fire was becoming more frequent, and that pulled Ahsoka from her dark place.
“Don’t worry, trooper. The General is on his way. You’re going to be alright. It’s going to be fine.” She told him, wiping the sweat droplets from his face.
“I appreciate the optimism, Commander-”
“Call me Ahsoka.” She tells him.
“I appreciate it, Ahsoka.” His skin was too pale, and he was sweating too much. Kriff! Ahsoka wished those ships would get here faster. “But, it’s what I was made for. This is what I was made for.”
“No!” Ahsoka gently tapped his cheek as his eyes fluttered shut. “Hey, you were made for more. You can do more. Trooper, c’mon!” She cried. His eyes opened again and she let out a relieved sigh and smiled down at him. “There you go!”
“I can’t take this anymore.” He exhaled.
“Trooper, hey!” She tried to get his attention. “Hey, if you could have a name, what would you want, huh? What name do you want?” His eyes landed on her and finally focused.
“Don’t know. Haven't done anything to get one yet.” He panted. Ahsoka shook her head.
“Can I give you one? Is that okay?” She hoped her tears would blend into her sweat.
He wasn’t going to make it.
“Y-yeah.” He replied gritting his teeth again.
“Okay, what about Sa’daar? Do you like that?” She asks, pushing his muddied hair from his forehead.
“S-Sa’daar?” The clone whimpered.
“Yeah. It means brother in Togruti.” She tells him. “What do you say? Do you like the name?” She tries to laugh, to cover up her sobs. She could see the light drain from him with every passing moment.
“I like it.” He replies. “Heh, I got a name.” His eyes look to the sky, to the leaves above them.
“Yeah.” Ahsoka says watching him. She could sense the pain he was in, but as he looked up, he seemed so at peace. She leaned back, watching his fingers slowly stop twitching and he moved his hand away from the wound. Ahsoka saw the hole. Blaster fire immediately cauterizes the wound, but it always leaves behind large holes in the body. A sight Ahsoka never got used to.
His chest stopped rising and his body relaxed just as blue blaster fire from above began to combat the red from the droids. Ahsoka reached over and closed his eyes.
“Rest easy, Sa’daar.”