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News of Chancellor Palpatine’s death spread quickly, but what exactly this meant for the future of the Republic took much longer to become clear.
When the 332nd Company returned to Coruscant, everything was in chaos. Confused troopers crowded the docking bay, looking for direction and finding none. The entirety of their brief lives had been spent in one narrow paradigm, and any change was a massive shock to the system.
Rumors flew faster than light but real information had no traction. The galaxy was at a tipping point, and the whole planet could feel it.
“Appo, what’s going on?” Rex commed the commander of the 501st, one arm folded tightly under the other as he looked out the bridge’s front window.
“Stay in the docking bays, Rex,” came Appo’s response. “The Chancellor’s been killed. We don’t know how or what happens next.”
Rex gave the order for the crew to hold their position and lock up the Venator until further notice. The well-trained crew worked with efficiency, and soon there was nothing to do but wait for news.
Ahsoka stood by Rex at the front of the bridge, her thumb running nervously back and forth across her knuckles. Rex paced back and forth for a while, but once it became clear no updates were forthcoming, he settled into a parade rest at Ahsoka’s side. His new role as commander was obviously chafing, and if Ahsoka knew Rex he was itching for something to do. Ahsoka could sympathize. She wasn’t used to being so out of the loop.
“Can you try reaching Anakin again?” Ahsoka asked.
“I’ve already tried twenty times. Once he’s able, he’ll respond,” Rex said.
Ahsoka huffed in frustration and closed her eyes, concentrating hard on the rhythm of the Force. The message it was sending was… confusing.
“I think Anakin’s alright…” she said, stepping forward and resting her hand against the thick transparisteel of the window. “It’s strange. The Force is all mixed up, like the sea in a storm. But it also feels… better.”
“What do you mean?” asked Rex.
Ahsoka shook her head. “I don’t know. But there’s something that’s been there, weighing at the back of my mind, for years now. And it’s gone.”
Rex turned to answer his comm as it crackled to life. “Yes, sir?”
“Rex, it’s Anakin,” the voice called from his comm. “Bring the 332nd to the Jedi Temple. I know what you’ve probably heard about the Chancellor, but just trust me. Everything is going to be alright.”
“Copy that, sir,” Rex said, then he relayed the message to the rest of the company.
Ahsoka followed him out of the bridge as they prepared to disembark, the whole crew flowing around them in a flurry of activity. An energy was building. She could feel it in the air.
“Well, at least we know the General’s alright,” Rex said, looking at Ahsoka out of the corner of his eye.
“Yeah,” Ahsoka said, though her words sounded distant to her own ears. On the face of it, Chancellor Palpatine’s death should be a major setback for the Republic. But she couldn’t help but feel as if an unstoppable, ever-present obstacle had finally been removed.
“Rex?” He paused his advance through the rush of activity. She caught up to him and tentatively moved her hand into his space, her fingers just brushing the back of the plastoid that protected his hand. “I think this might be the beginning of the end of the war.”
Six months later Ahsoka met Rex for lunch at Dex’s Diner, one of Obi-Wan’s old favorites. He wore dark trousers and a light blue tunic, the color standing out against the garish red of the seat cushions. The cut was flattering, but Ahsoka couldn’t help but stare at the unnatural sight of Rex in anything but his blacks and armor. On Onderon and Zygerria he’d worn other things, sure—but that had been for a single mission. It was strange to think that this might just be what he wore now, on a regular basis.
“How’s civilian life treating you?” she asked him over the plate of fried quanta they’d ordered to start.
Rex popped a hunk of the starchy plant into his mouth and closed his eyes in enjoyment. He’d done that at every meal Ahsoka had shared with him since the end of the war, each new dish an opportunity to discover the variety of flavors the galaxy had to offer. Not that they’d shared that many meals together. It had been frustratingly difficult to steal some time with her friend.
“I’m not a civilian. Not yet, anyway,” Rex said.
Ahsoka rolled her eyes. “Ok, maybe not officially until next month. But you’re getting leave, time to plan the future, that sort of thing. What’s it like?”
Rex considered for a moment, staring up at the ceiling as he thought. “Good, I think. A little strange, but we were taught to adapt to anything. It will be harder when we’re actually out of the GAR. Now it just feels like leave, but once we’re officially discharged I’m worried I won’t know what to do with myself.”
“Feeling lost without orders?”
Rex smirked. “I’m sure I’ll be alright, it’s not as if General Skywalker ever provided us any real leadership anyway.”
Ahsoka laughed and swatted at him, though her smile fell as her thoughts turned to her old master.
“Have you had a chance to see him much?” Rex asked.
Ahsoka shook her head. “No. He’s been busy with the formal investigation of Chancellor Palpatine and with sorting out the ceasefire. And with, well... You know. Senator Amidala. And it’s harder to get ahold of anyone in the Order now.”
The waiter arrived with their orders—a Brualki brisket for Ahsoka and a nerfsteak sandwich for Rex.
“The General told me you’d probably be let back in, if you pressed for it,” Rex said, eyeing her carefully.
Ahsoka bit into her brisket and chewed, the savory flavor luxurious on her tongue. She swallowed and decided to tell Rex the truth. “I don’t think I’ll be going back.”
Rex’s eyebrows rose. “You won’t? But… I thought with the end of the war your issues with the Order would be resolved? What will you do now?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve thought about it, but whenever I do my reasons for staying are all about fear. Where would I go? What would I do? Who would I be without the Order? The Order does a lot of good for a lot of people, but it also leaves you with very few options.” Ahsoka leaned back in the booth and sighed, her gaze falling to her hands. It was hard to see who she was without the Order, but these past months on her own had opened her eyes to the possibilities. “It was my home for a long time, but it isn’t any more.”
“Are you sure?”
Ahsoka nodded. “Yes. I believe in the Force, but the Jedi Order isn’t the only way to follow the Force. I think I need to find my own path.”
“Well, you’ll always have me and the boys at your back,” Rex said. “The Order isn’t your only family. Not anymore.”
Ahsoka smiled softly, her heart swelling in appreciation for her friend as she looked at him smiling staunchly at her from across the table. “And what about you? What are you going to do?”
“I’m trying to figure something out with Jesse and Kix. Appo and Cody might join us, too.”
“Like what?”
“Private security, probably. I think Kix would like to get more specialized medical training and Cody is interested in research, but we need to get our feet under us first. Build a solid foundation, then explore more what the galaxy has to offer.”
“That sounds like a good idea to me,” she said. “Did you already get your name change?”
“I got my Galactic Identification Number, but I haven’t picked my legal name yet. General Skywalker offered to sponsor me, but I’m not sure.”
“What? ‘Rex Skywalker’ doesn’t roll off the tongue?” Ahsoka teased.
“No! I mean, don’t get me wrong, it would be an honor! But… Well you heard what happened with the Wolfpack.”
Ahsoka nodded. When the Republic gave clones full citizenship, they gave them the option of picking their own surnames or adopting the surname of a sponsor. Plo Koon attempted to sponsor every single trooper in the Wolfpack, and a Coruscant judge had to tell him no. “Too many citizens with nearly identical names,” he’d said. Master Plo still grumbled about it from time to time, but in the end he relented and only Wolffe and a few other officers were given the honor of officially joining the Plo family.
“Yeah, I heard. But you and Anakin are so close! I’m sure he’d sponsor you if you asked.”
Rex bit his lip to hide a grimace. He’d become so much more open with his expressions since the ceasefire, and Ahsoka found she couldn’t look away.
“I don’t know. The General and I were very close, but in the last year of the war… And I wouldn’t want to ask something like that of him. If he offered it would be different.”
“I understand.”
Ahsoka took another bite of her brisket and tried to ignore the guilt she felt each time Rex brought up the final months of the war. She’d left the 501st, left Rex. She’d known Anakin was having a hard time and she’d left, without even saying goodbye. Rex didn’t talk specifics about the time when she was gone, but the way he danced around the subject revealed plenty.
Rex leaned back in his chair and took a sip of his drink. “Well whatever name I end up with, the future looks bright. The boys and I have already found a place to live. It’s nothing fancy, an industrial warehouse lower down in the levels than we’d like, but it’s comfortable. You should come visit for Life Day. We’re having a party.”
“I’ve never been to a Life Day party before!” Ahsoka said. “The Order didn’t exactly encourage gift-giving. You can only have so many robes and lightsaber accessories.”
“It’ll be our first Life Day, too. I’ve never really owned much, so the gift-giving will be new to me, too.”
Ahsoka looked down at the cup of juice in her hand. “Should we… should I bring a gift?” Her eyes flitted up.
Rex shrugged, but she couldn’t miss the flicker of excitement in his eyes. She had to admit that she, too, wanted a gift from Rex. She didn’t even know what to ask for, but somehow she knew he would find the perfect thing.
“If you want to, but there’s no need,” Rex said. “So you think you’ll come?”
Ahsoka grinned. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
Ahsoka spent nearly every minute from the time she accepted Rex’s invitation to the party itself thinking of a gift for him. In between her shifts at the mechanic’s shop she browsed the market, shopping centers, and army surplus stores, eyes always on the lookout for something he would especially appreciate.
It was hard, almost as hard as thinking of a gift she might want for herself. What did you get for someone who’d never really had possessions? Who’d never even really expressed a desire for possessions? She could get him some nice clothes, but she didn’t know his style. She could get him music, but what kind? Cooking? But maybe he didn’t like that. A new blaster? But that might be too close to his work. Holovids? But what genre? And did he even have a holovid projector? It felt impossible.
And she knew that whatever she got him he would like. She could get him a cute stuffed nerf and he’d probably cherish it all his days simply because it was from her. That was just the kind of person he was. But she wanted to find him something just right. Because he was just right.
One day as she staggered into her apartment after a long day of work tinkering with stalled speeders at a small garage, her terminal alerted her to a new transmission. As soon as she saw the sender’s address she dropped her things to the floor and hurried to open the message. It was from a private investigator she’d hired to find a certain family on Shili. Her breath caught in her throat and her finger hesitated a moment to open the message, then she forced the nerves down and clicked receive.
Ms. Tano,
I’ve located Aret and Mridi Tano. They live in Baikal, on Shili. I have spoken with them some, though in vague terms. They seem open to meeting you. Would you like me to arrange a meeting?
Still standing, Ahsoka bent over the terminal and read the message twice more, her eyes widening. She typed a quick response.
Yes. Maybe after Life Day? Let me know what they say.
She clicked send before she could think any more about it, then collapsed into her chair. Her heart was pounding, and she closed her eyes to calm herself. For not the first time, she sent her mind back in time, searching her thoughts for any memories of her parents. There was nothing solid, but impressions of warmth and safety were there, memories of homey smells and simple, carefree afternoons. She knew seeing them again wasn’t going to automatically make up for the vast majority of their lives spent apart, but she wanted to see where this path would lead.
She opened her eyes and studied the faint pattern of the steel cutters in the durasteel ceiling. The thought of seeing Aret and Mridi Tano felt strangely anticlimactic. She was excited, certainly, and knew she would learn much by discovering where she came from. It would be good to meet her parents, but Ahsoka realized it wasn’t an urgent need. The void she’d felt yawning in her heart growing up had already been filled by Anakin, by Padme, by Riyo, by Rex…
And just like that, Ahsoka knew what to get Rex.
The dingy warehouse in the mid-level industrial sector didn’t look like much, but Ahsoka knew the clones would turn it into something special. She walked up to the front door and knocked, the sounds of a party already in full-swing audible through the durasteel door. The door hissed open and Jesse peered out, a drink in his hand and his face merrily flushed.
“Hey!” he yelled behind him. “The Little Commander’s here!”
A cheer sounded from inside and Ahsoka couldn’t help but laugh. Jesse made room for her and she stepped past him into the warehouse. The large warehouse was mostly empty, but several old, broken-in couches and soft rugs created a little living space on one end of the cavernous room. Appo and Cody were playing chess in the corner, Kix hovered over the food-laden table, and Echo chatted quietly with a group of men Ahsoka didn’t recognize. And Rex, having already spotted her, headed right towards her with a brightly colored drink in his hand and a smile on his face.
“Ahsoka, you made it!” he said.
“Did you doubt me?” she asked.
“Never!”
“You’re the last to arrive, so we can get started now.”
“This doesn’t count as already started?” Ahsoka asked, gesturing around her.
“Oh no, wait til you see what we can get up to.”
On that ominous note, Rex gathered everyone together around the table. Kix brought the final dishes out and explained meal logistics.
“Get your plates there, then utensils there, and the line will curl back towards the-”
“We know how to get food, Kix,” one of the men Ahsoka didn’t recognize said, a burly man at least a head taller than the other clones.
He pushed to the front of the line and grabbed a plate, setting off an unofficial starting gun for the rest of the clones. The table was picked clean in under fifteen minutes, and Ahsoka doubted she would have gotten a single bite to eat if Rex hadn’t emerged from the fray with a plate for her.
Ahsoka found a spot at the end of one of the couches and dug in. The food was delicious, perhaps not as technically well-made as her meals at the Jedi Temple, but containing that special something that spiced all homemade meals. She complimented Kix, who’d prepared everything, and he glowed with pleasure despite a few jokes at his expense.
The men joked and laughed, telling stories and teasing like she’d heard a thousand times before during the war. Those past conversations had always covered an underlying tension, though—the terrible knowledge that the man you teased or the brother whose story you enjoyed might be dead the next day. Now when Jesse made a bad joke, his brothers laughed but without the abandon of someone wondering if this might be their last chance.
Something else was different, too, now that Ahsoka wasn’t their superior officer any more. A camaraderie and friendship filled the air—something that Ahsoka had always wanted to find in the Jedi Order but never quite reached. The modest island of domesticity in the large warehouse practically glowed with warmth and protection, and Ahsoka wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol in her drink of the natural headiness of the holiday, but she found she never wanted to leave.
“Ok, time to exchange gifts before you all get too liquored up to see straight,” Kix said, getting to his feet.
“It would take a lot more booze than you have here to get me drunk,” the burly man said.
A tall skinny man with grey hair next to him smacked him in the arm. “I’d rather not test that theory, Wrecker.”
“How are we going to do this, Rex?” Jesse asked. “Who goes first?”
“I think we should go in order of rank,” Appo said, then raised a hand to placate the chorus of boos washing over him. “No, no, I mean highest ranked gives lowest ranked a gift first.”
“Then the Little Commander goes first?” Jesse said.
Cody got to his feet and shook his head solemnly. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to pull rank, here. Marshal Commander outranks Commander, even if they’re a Jedi.”
Ahsoka smirked. “Be my guest, Marshal Commander.”
Cody kicked off the gift exchange with a set of comfortable scrubs for Kix, the color a nice deep blue and the fabric durable but comfortable. Kix accepted it with a huge smile, which fell once he turned the scrubs around and saw the writing embroidered on the back.
“‘A good droid is a dead droid?’ Are you guys never going to let me live that down?” he said, his hand rising to touch the hair that covered those same words inked onto his skin.
“Nope!” Jesse said, clapping Kix on the shoulder. “Alright, Ahsoka next!”
The gifts Ahsoka had brought were small—she couldn’t afford anything extravagant on her mechanic’s salary—but she’d made them as heartfelt as possible. She gave Jesse one of her favorite holodramas, for Kix she got a jar of rare Shili spices, for Cody she got a new chess set, and for Appo she got the most recommended blaster polishing set on the market. She didn’t have anything for Echo and his friends, whom she hadn’t known would be attending, and for Rex she got a nice razor set. “To keep your hair regulation length,” she said.
They went around the room multiple times until all the gifts were given, and Ahsoka glowed with contentment. She hadn’t even really thought about the gifts she’d be receiving, but she ended up with a beautiful headdress, some new leather gloves, and a holo of her with the 501st that brought tears to her eyes. Each gift was less an object than a testament to her bond to her friends—evidence that they knew her, understood what she would like, and wanted to make her happy.
All the gifts properly distributed, conversation started up again and the drinks started to flow. Jesse had somehow made his way to the floor, where he lounged with a glass of mystery purple liquid among a pile of wrapping paper and cards. Kix set to cleaning up until Echo waylaid him for a game of chess, and Cody and Wrecker started a surprisingly competitive arm wrestling competition.
Ahsoka looked on from her spot on the couch, unable to keep the grin from her face. Then a hand pressed on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Rex standing above her.
“Want a tour of the place?” he said. “Before they somehow manage to set it on fire?”
“Definitely!”
Ahsoka hopped to her feet and followed Rex across the boundary of their makeshift living room. She was eager to see their new home and the site of their future business, and it would also be the perfect opportunity to give Rex his gift—his real gift—away from prying eyes.
“We’re going to put our front office over here, by the door,” Rex said, pointing to the entrance, “and the open area over there will be for vehicles and equipment.”
Ahsoka nodded. “Impressive. Are you planning on taking on astro missions or will you stick mostly to jobs on the ground?”
“On the ground, at least at first. It’ll be best to specialize in a smaller niche first, make a name for ourselves. Then maybe we can expand to other things.”
“Makes sense.”
They moved on to another, smaller warehouse that Rex earmarked for training. Then there were a series of smaller rooms for specific kinds of equipment and testing.
“And up these stairs,” Rex said, starting up the rusty steps as he talked, “are the living quarters. We figured it would be cheaper to live where we work than to rent out separate space.”
“Yes, and… I don’t know, it was so hard to live by myself after leaving the Order. I’d imagine it would be even harder if you’re a clone trooper.”
“Definitely. We weren’t built to be alone.”
He walked her through the cramped apartments on the second floor, his footsteps faster and his words slightly awkward, like he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be showing her this. Then he got to a long, dark room with hooks hung on either side of the wall, black undersuits and pieces of body armor hanging from each hook.
Ahsoka jogged over to the nearest one and admired the black plastoid armor, noting the Mandalorian sigil emblazoned on the side.
“You guys already have uniforms? They look great!” she said.
“Yeah…” Rex said, the hesitation in his voice bringing her eyes back to him.
“...What’s wrong, Rex?”
Rex scratched at the back of his head and looked at the ceiling. “Nothing’s wrong, I just… Well I have another gift for you.”
Ahsoka let go of the piece of armor and her hands fell to her side. “Rex, you really didn’t need to! I loved the headdress-”
“I know, and you don’t have to accept it if you don’t want it, but… Well, it’s right behind you.”
Ahsoka turned and furrowed her brow in confusion at the set of nearly-identical armor behind her. She took a few tentative steps towards the cubby, noting the black undersuit, chestplate, and pauldrons, then noticed that the chestplate was more molded than the other ones, the pauldrons smaller.
“Rex, is this for me?”
“Yeah. If you want it, that is. I already talked to the boys, and if you want a place with the team, a place here, we’d love to have you.”
Ahsoka’s fingers curled around the pauldron, her heart squeezing as she tightened her grip on the smooth plastoid. She turned to face Rex, a stinging weight burning in the corners of her eyes.
Rex started at her appearance and his eyes went wide. “It’s ok if you don’t want to, we won’t be offended! I can easily resell the armor, or wait until another woman wants to join-”
“Don’t you dare give my armor to someone else!” Ahsoka said, clutching the pauldron to her chest.
A slow grin spread across Rex’s face. “Then you like it?”
The tears that had been building in Ahsoka’s eyes finally broke free and slid down her face. “Yes. I’d love to stay here.”
He stepped towards her like he meant to give her a hug, then stopped himself, as if suddenly realizing what he was doing. His face, already ruddy from alcohol, flushed a deep red. In that moment he looked almost like a shy little boy.
“I have a gift for you, too!” Ahsoka blurted out, and Rex’s eyebrows rose in surprise.
“But you already gave me the razor…”
“Yeah, and you already gave me the headdress,” Ahsoka countered.
Rex laughed. “You’ve got me there. But you didn’t have to.”
“I know. I wanted to.” She paused, unsure how to continue. Now that the moment had actually come, she wondered if her gift wasn’t actually incredibly presumptuous. Ahsoka had never been one to shy away from risks, but her body had only ever been at stake. Now it was her heart that was on the line, and Rex’s too.
“...What is it?” Rex asked, sensing Ahsoka’s hesitation.
“It’s, um… My name. If you want, you can have it,” she said, forcing the words out.
Rex’s jaw went slack, and a pang of hurt beat against Ahsoka’s ribs. Was it really so surprising that she would offer something like this? Her shoulders hunched inwars, and her grip on the pauldron in her hands tightened.
“Are you proposing to me?” Rex asked.
Ahsoka’s gaze shot to his, and she nearly dropped the pauldron. “W-what? No! It’s the sponsorship thing, for choosing your legal last name.”
“Oh… So would I be like your child? Or your brother?”
“No, no, I checked with the office, and we wouldn’t be legally related. We’d have some of the benefits of family, like visitation at hospitals and easier processing for things like inheritances, but other than that we wouldn’t have a legal family relationship.”
Rex’s eyes, already as wide as saucers, stretched further. Ahsoka could see a thin ring of white all the way around his polished wood eyes. “You checked?”
Whatever temperature they kept their warehouse at, it was too hot. “Look, if you’re not interested I totally understand. I shouldn’t have assumed-”
“Ahsoka, I would love to share your name.” Rex stepped towards her and rested his hands lightly atop hers, where they still clutched at her new pauldron.
“Really?”
“It would be an honor. And Rex Tano? It has a nice ring to it.”
Ahsoka’s shoulders sagged in relief, and she loosened her death grip on the bit of plastoid, throwing her arms around Rex’s broad shoulders. He slowly, carefully moved his hands to her waist, and let his chin lower delicately onto her shoulder.
“Everything is so different now. We grew up during the war and came out different people,” Ahsoka said.
Rex hummed in agreement. “Yeah. But I have a good feeling about the future.”
Ahsoka squeezed her eyes shut and pulled her arms closer around him. “As long as we’re together.”
“Together,” he repeated, like a vow.
She basked in his warm embrace, feeling safe and loved and secure. As the sounds of merriment drifted up from the party below, it struck Ahsoka that she and Rex had ended up giving each other the same gift. They’d given each other a home.