Work Text:
The Last One
Lady JaRuc
A tall, cloaked figure stepped off an island transport ship onto the plaza of Pabu Island. Though no one could tell if the person was man or woman, the shape of the covered head indicated a Togruta. In no apparent hurry to reach a destination on the island, the person wandered among the stalls set up along the sides of the plaza. The deep hood hid the features.
Sensing someone, the figure turned but saw no one nearby. Not seeing the person she came to meet, she looked up. Several levels up, along the top of the island, stood homes with flowers flowing over rock walls. A blonde woman stood at one wall. Upon seeing the blonde, the visitor remembered first meeting her. And remembered how long it had been since they last met.
With a nod, the figure headed for the broad road leading up. The woman above left the wall. Omega was coming to meet her.
Sure enough, the two met halfway up the road. The two stared at each other, the hooded one still covered, the other’s bright hair pulled back into its usual ponytail.
“It’s good to see you again. You’ve changed little since you worked with Hera and the Phoenix squad,” the cloaked figure said as she held out a hand.
“Welcome to Pabu, Ahsoka,” Omega said, a warm but very quiet welcome. “Come up to the house, and tell me why this unexpected visit. I know it’s important because you don’t come out in public…ever.”
The two women strolled up the road without speaking further. The warmth and scent of flowers relaxed muscles gone tense in both women, though neither admitted it. Once inside the gate, they entered a pleasant patio where a long table and a number of chairs sat with a view of the sea that would please anyone.
“Perhaps we should speak inside?” Ahsoka suggested.
“Of course,” Omega said, realizing that the other woman could not relax, free of the cloak and hood, until she was away from prying eyes. “The island gossips would have a field day if they knew a…” she almost said Jedi but caught herself. “Person such as yourself was visiting. As it is, you are a guest of the family. Part of the family if you ask Rex.” Omega smiled and motioned the other woman inside.
Once away from prying eyes and listening ears, Omega took Ahsoka’s cloak and invited her into the kitchen. “We talk business here and relax in the bigger room. If that’s all right with you,” she said as she raised an inquiring brow at the well-stock refrigerator.
“Just water if that’s all right. I can’t stay more than one rotation. But I want to meet each of the Batchers individually. It’s…it’s important,” the woman admitted, her head down, playing with the glass sitting in front of her.
“In my experience, that usually means something bad,” Omega admitted as she gestured to the table. “Might as well get comfortable.” She slid onto a padded seat, her own glass in her hand, comfort being important but not as much as whatever this woman had to share.
“Omega, Rex told me a number of stories about you. He loved you like a daughter. He’d fight as hard as your brothers to keep you safe. He always said you were the sunshine he often missed while fighting.”
“I’ve not seen Rex in a number of years. He visited often then fell off the radar shortly after he escaped from that ship…with your help. He never forgot that he survived not only that but the inhibitor chip because of you. He only visits by holovid these days. I miss hugging him,” Omega admitted with a shrug and warm smile.
“Would you tell me something about yourself and your brothers before I share my news?”
“Me?” Omega squeaked, her hand to her chest. A flash of memory zipped through her mind. A smile spread across her face. “I said that—just like that—when Hunter and the others got themselves captured on purpose on Kamino just so they could take me away with them.” She sighed and smiled at Ahsoka. “I hadn’t thought of that in years.”
“So…about you?” Ahsoka reminded her.
“Oh yeah, right. So, I’m a clone like my brothers, but when all was said and done, we realized the Empire wanted me because I was a perfect copy of Jango Fett, the one whose DNA created all the clones. The DNA was disintegrating as more generations were made. The Empire wanted me because they could start over with clones like generation one. Like Rex.”
Ahsoka nodded. “Makes sense in a twisted sort of way.”
“My brothers found me…rescued me really. We spent time without Crosshair because he thought he was a good soldier serving the Empire. It took a while, but he realized he was as expendable as a busted blaster. My brother Tech sacrificed himself to save the rest of us when we went to Eriadu to rescue Cross. But…” she shuddered and wiped off a tear that hung from her lashes. “Someone found him, saved his life—he’s always said a Jedi broke his fall. He returned some years later. Not physically fit for duty anymore but still as smart as ever.”
“Yes, but you?” Ahsoka persisted. Weariness filled her voice even as she asked.
“Oh, right. I left the sterile lab of Nala Se and traveled the galaxy. I learned a lot from each of my brothers. How to hunt and use a knife, how to shoot, how to plan and strategize, how to fly a ship. I had an energy bow that I used a lot. We flew all over doing odd jobs for a Trandoshan named Cid. Those were some scary times. Crosshair decided to stay with the Empire but later came back to us. We lost Hunter for a while then rescued him. Tech broke his leg, and Echo and I almost died in a cargo container when I made a stupid decision. Royce Hemlock, an Empire scientist, captured me and taken me to a lab facility. I found Crosshair there, a prisoner of the Empire. They were experimenting on clones. It was awful, hearing their screams and seeing their blank faces when they returned to their cells. I came up with a plan to escape and take Cross with me. We escaped and met up with Wrecker and Hunter.”
Again, her eyes welled up, but this time, a tear fell down her rosy cheek. “I was never so glad to see Wrecker, but my heart hurt so badly when I saw Hunter again. It was like…” she paused and gave thought to what she was going to say next. “It was like a piece of me had been missing, but when he held me that night, I came back together. Does that make sense?” she asked with a watery laugh.
“Perfectly. In my travels, I met my Master again—Anakin Skywalker. He’d changed, but in those first few seconds, my heart seemed to mend. The same when Rex returned to me. Like I’d been holding my breath and could finally breathe again.”
“Exactly,” Omega said quietly.
“You served in the Rebellion.”
“For four years. That’s when we met the first time, of course. When I saw Rex again. How my heart sang to hold him, knowing he was alive. A few of my brothers joined me, but eventually we all came back home. And here I’ve been ever since.”
“Happy, I think,” Ahsoka implied with a lifted brow and a small smile.
“Ecstatically. Married to a wonderful man. Life has changed and for the good, but my brothers…” she stopped again and let her gaze go off into the distance.
“You see their mortality,” Ahsoka said quietly.
“Yes,” Omega whispered mournfully.
“In what way? To know would help when I talk to each one.”
Omega glanced around the kitchen and stilled as if listening. “Crosshair is away from the house so I can explain what is happening.”
“They’re getting old.” Ahsoka sighed and added, “Rex said the same thing about me the day he came back to help me fight in the Rebellion. Said I grew old. He had no room to talk. He’d gotten heavier though not fat. And his blond hair was gone. But he had a full white beard and mustache. He looked quite distinguished in partial armor with those same dual blasters on his hips.” She chuckled and said, “I refrained as best I could from saying he looked a lot older than me. But I loved him too much to hurt his feelings. And I was so very glad to see him after all those years apart.” She sighed heavily, her eyes down, lost in memories.
Silence fell for a few minutes, each thinking of Captain Rex who headed the 501st battalion under General Anakin Skywalker and herself, Ahsoka Tano, commander, all of fourteen years old. Skywalker might have taught Ahsoka how to plan and be creative but Rex and the clone soldiers taught her how to live and be a person worthy of fighting beside.
After leaving the Order, Ahsoka matured and realized that she’d fallen in love with her captain. So had Rex fallen in love with her, but stubborn people that both were, it was a long time before they admitted such to each other.
With a rough cough and a slight shake of her head as if waking up, Omega held up her hand and ticked off each finger as she spoke of her brothers. “Hunter has enhanced senses. Smell, taste, sight, hearing. He feels electromagnetic fields. He sees sounds as colors and all that sort of stuff. He’s never really been able to explain what he does…he just does it. I have no idea how many times he’s saved our lives and those of other clones.” She raised a second finger. “Tech is a genius. The Kaminoans expanded his brain to hold untold amounts of information. He has a perfect memory. His piloting skills are second to none as are his organizational, logic, and engineering skills.” She held up a third finger. “Wrecker was built to be a killing machine, tough, huge, able to do more damage physically than anyone else. He was also taught how to work with explosives. Though he bears the scars of a massive explosion, it wasn’t his, and the one he did set that day saved lives. His heart grew as big as his muscles, but he’s not what the Kaminoans expected. He’s one of the kindest, gentlest men I know, and he reads people like a book. He’s a natural empath.” She held up a fourth finger. “Crosshair was created to be a merciless killing machine. A sniper who needed no one. Content to live alone. Despite his less than social attitude, he really is kind-hearted, smart, and creative, but he hates showing emotions. He values control. His enhanced sight is unbelievable. In the dark, his eyes reflect light back and appear red. I can’t tell you how many times that served us…on purpose and accidently.” She giggled but held up her thumb.
“Echo—you know him, of course—is mechanically enhanced rather than DNA enhanced. He was a clone trooper then Rex took him on as an ARC trooper. He’s never forgotten those skills nor has he ever forgotten his brothers. Those in his own batch as well as those we’ve rescued. He lives to help others. But he was critically wounded at the Citadel, declared dead. The Techno Union found him, put him together with mechanical parts, and used his brain for a year to defeat the Republic until Rex, your general, and the Batch saved him. He no longer fit in with the regs as Cross would say, but he fit with us.” Omega sobered for a second before adding, “However, I think the guilt of his strategies used to kill so many of his clone brothers has never faded even after all these years.”
“That’s how Rex described your family. So, what changed?” Ahsoka asked.
“Funny, but that same question floated around for a while when the Republic changed to become the Empire and when Cross finally came to his senses and rejoined us.”
“When we settled here on Pabu, we understood that clones age faster than natborn. I don’t age fast though. So, while I’m in my thirties, they’re in their late sixties.”
Ahsoka reached out and laid a hand on Omega’s arm in sympathy.
“I grew up while they grew old. I went off to fight and returned to see just how life was treating them. Slower. A bit crankier. Softer. Kinder. But older. I married, and we celebrated. I never had children. Seems that male clones can father them, but female clones can’t carry pregnancies. Still, I’m blessed with nieces and nephews. Tech married and has a son. Hunter married as well as Wrecker. Echo even married…a senator of all people though she no longer served in the Senate,” she said with a smile that immediately fell. “She died before they were together one year. She still advocated for clone rights and that made her unpopular. Assassinated. Almost killed Echo.”
“Poor guy,” Ahsoka said, her head lowered, remembering how much the man had survived already and how that was one more tragedy to bear. “What about Crosshair?”
“He’s like me, content with being an uncle. We’re Auntie Megs and Uncle Cross. He’s been with a woman for years, not married. They decided to live life day-by-day. She’ll outlive him like I’ll outlive my brothers.” Omega gasped, her hand to her chest, the realization hitting home once more.
“Your husband?”
“He’s a doctor, off the island at this time training medics. I’m sorry you can’t meet him. While I love him madly, he could only marry me with my brothers’ approval. He’s not a clone.” Here she laughed. “It wasn’t easy. He has a brother—Alex Kallus. You know him, of course.”
Ahsoka rubbed her nose to hide a smile as she gave Omega the side-eye.” “I had no idea Alex has relatives. That must have been something when all here heard the news.”
“Life was a bit chaotic for a while. You can see why it took the guys time to warm up to the idea of a man who left the Empire to work for the Rebellion and become a secret agent. Mik is Alex’s—Fulcrum’s—brother. The guys gave me a karking hard time about my fiancé’s brother.”
Both laughed, for the brother with a sketchy background was now a valued member of the Rebellion though he started out as an agent of the Empire.
“So, your brothers, they’ve changed with age then,” Ahsoka said, pulling them back to the subject.
“Uh huh,” Omega agreed, finally sighing and sharing just how the aging process affected her brothers. “Hunter is now deaf. While he can still use several of his senses, he can’t hear. His family is his support. They knew it was coming though because it was a gradual thing. We have worked out several signs for him to use, and he reads lips well.”
“And the others?”
“Tech…I’m not sure there’s a word to describe declining intelligence. He’d know. Some days he’s on his game. Then he’ll slip into a period of not knowing exactly where he is or what he’s supposed to be doing. He still recognizes all of us thankfully, but you can tell that his mind is slipping away. A few times he’s railed about that, but most times he’s unaware that his genius is fading.”
Once again, Omega put a hand over her heart, her breath coming in uneasy gasps.
“Slowly, Omega. Breathe. Just breathe,” Ahsoka encouraged, reaching out and laying a hand gently on top of hers. “What about Wrecker?”
“He’s still as big as is his heart, but as he’s aged. His heart is slowing down. He can’t move as well without getting out of breath and hurting. He and his wife live not far off the plaza and work a stall there so neither have to move far or fast. Still, there are more and more days when he’s too tired to do more than sit in his huge chair in their living room. He has a power chair that he uses when he comes here. Both of them do. Echo does as well.”
“I remember Echo from the war before his accident,” Ahsoka said, cutting her eyes at Omega, a twinkle in them. “He and his batch mate, Fives, were terrors to be around. Always into something. I laughed at them a few times, but mostly I laughed with them. They gave Rex a few gray hairs,” she said with a chuckle.
“Echo’s prosthetics don’t fit properly anymore, so he got a power chair and scoots all over the island in it. He’s as busy as ever. And since a few more than he and Wrecker use power chairs now, the Pabu counsel installed ramps so they have no trouble getting where they need to go. That’s how he gets up here. It’s a regular mechanical convention when Wrecker, his wife, and Echo all show up with power chairs.”
“You haven’t mentioned Crosshair…or Cross as you call him.”
“That’s what the island people call him…Mr. Cross. He discovered he liked giving swim lessons to the littles. They in turn adored him.”
“But now?”
“He’s blind. That enhanced eyesight turned on him. He can hear well, but he can’t see.” Omega’s tears fell, thinking of the one brother that she thought almost invincible. “We went through so much together. With Hemlock on Tantiss.” She looked around again, checking for someone. “While Hunter has my heart, Cross shares it even more than my other brothers.” She held up a hand, “Don’t get me wrong. I love them all, but those two are so near and dear to me.”
“And if he’s not married, where does he live?”
“Here with me and my husband. Well, actually we live with him. This was our home for years before the guys married and moved out. He never married so stayed, and this place serves as a guest home when someone like Rex comes to visit. He invited us to live with him. We didn’t even ask. I’m glad we said yes.”
“I see your concern. Your brothers are growing old as are all the clones. Actually, there are few left now. The Rebellion is making a final push to take down the Empire’s hold on the galaxy. I hope for peace in the not too far future. But so many that you might have known and for sure those your brothers knew are now gone,” Ahsoka said sadly, her eyes down, her hands turning her empty glass.
“Is that why you’re here?”
“Why is who here?” came a raspy voice from the hall.
“Cross? You’re home early,” Omega jumped up and hugged him even as she took a sack of food from his arm.
“Who’s here, Megs?” He stood with his shoulder against the doorframe, his sightless eyes focused on the sounds his sister made as she took things out of the sack.
“A friend of Rex’s showed up, wanting to talk to each of us. I’m not sure if you ever met her, but you’ve heard Rex talk about Ahsoka Tano a million times.”
“Ahsoka Tano?” He said the name slowly as if in thought. “Skywalker’s padawan. I thought she died when that Star Destroyer—the Tribunal—went down?”
“I lived, Crosshair,” Ahsoka said as she moved away from the table and stood in front of him. “Rex saved my life.” She stood tall before the blind man, no longer driven by survivor’s guilt.
“The way he told it afterwards…before he disappeared…was that you saved his,” Cross said, putting his arms over his narrow chest.
“Let’s say we were in a bad spot and helped each other. Couldn’t help it. That’s how we always were with each other. Orbiting around each other. Always near until we weren’t for so long. I met up with him again when I sent a crew out to find him.”
“So where is he now? Still out there with those kriffin’ twin blasters he loves?”
“Crosshair, would you and Omega sit with me at the table?”
She knew better than to reach out to help him. Omega nodded and returned to the table but waited to sit after him.
With a scowl on his face, Cross moved, using a light touch along the wall to come to the table then sit. Omega scooted in next to him. Both of them laid their hands on the table, Omega reaching over to clasp his, their fingers twined.
Ahsoka took a seat across from them. “There are those who swear that Rex has served on first one planet then another while fighting for the Rebellion. But I can definitively say that’s not true.”
It took no genius for Crosshair to figure out what she was trying to say. “He’s dead, isn’t he?”
The woman nodded then remembered the man across from her couldn’t see her. “Yes. Rex died in my arms after troopers hit us. I’d like to think that rumors of his exploits though continue to carry his name,” she said with a shuddering sigh of her own, tears welling in her eyes as tears flowed down Omega’s cheeks. “He died surrounded by his squad, those he came to serve…those he came to love. I’ve shed my tears for him but will mourn him forever. He was a good man.”
“A good clone, you mean,” Cross said sarcastically.
“Despite how you grew up, you, sir, are first, foremost, and always will be a human male. Just…like…Rex. I loved him dearly, even more when he joined me later in his life. He’s the last of those good men. The last of the commanders: Gregor, Wolffe, and Rex. He lived long enough to issue orders,” she said, laughing even as tears rolled down her cheeks. “Tell the Batch that it was an honor to serve with them. Give Omega my love, and tell her she’s as good a woman as…” Ahsoka paused and dipped her head, a blush touching her cheek.
“As good a woman as…Ahsoka Tano,” Cross finished, his voice kind and gentle. He turned his head to Omega. “That’s an honor for Rex to compare you to the Jedi here.” He turned his head back to face Ahsoka. “He loved you very much, Commander.”
Lifting her head with a shaky laugh, she said, “When I joined him and part of the 501st on that last mission, I’d been gone a long time, no longer a Jedi or in the military, but Rex and the boys painted their helmets orange with decorations like my face markings. I told him he didn’t have to call me Commander any more. You know what he said?”
“I can guess,” Cross whispered. “Sure thing…Commander.”
“You got it. The man was something else. While I was still a padawan, he and a squad of his men trained me how to use my light sabers to dodge their blaster bolts. That training saved my life when Order 66 was issued.” This time Ahsoka sighed in sorrow.
“So, no more Rex,” Cross said even as he squeezed Omega’s hand.
“Cross, that’s rude,” Omega whispered, leaning against his stooped shoulders.
“Yeah, I know, kid. Sorry, Ahsoka. It’s tough to find out another friend is marching on ahead.”
“He’s waiting for his brothers, Cross. Someday…” the former padawan said softly, her hand out to rest on his.
He turned his hand over and let hers lay in his palm. “We always got sporadic holos from him but not in a long time. So now we know.” He went quiet, his head down. “Megs?”
“Uh huh?”
“I think I’ll go to my room for a little while.” She moved aside and let him move away from the table. At the door, he turned and nodded to Ahsoka. “Thanks for telling us.”
“Sure thing, but before you go,” the woman said with a heavy heart. “We talked…that last night before the mission. We had no idea what would happen the next day when we set out for that big push. We just sat together like we always did. During the war, when on a mission, we’d sit, eat ration bars, and sip water then talk. Often, we’d wake up in the same position, side by side, my head resting on his shoulder, his head resting atop my montrals. We still did that on the base.” She sighed, seeing Crosshair wait until she finished. “He told me what he thought of each of you. He asked me to tell each of you…in case anything ever happened to him. That’s why I’m here.”
Ahsoka stood and came to lay a hand on Crosshair’s arm, feeling the thinner muscles. “He was proud of your redemption—tell Crosshair, he said, that coming back into his family after what he did—that took guts. That was the bravest thing he’d ever seen.”
Cross tried to say something, but nothing came past the lump of emotion in his throat. His eyes watered, and he nodded once, his way of thanking her. He’d go to his room now and let the older brother’s words settle into his heart.
Omega took her brother’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“Thanks, Commander,” Cross finally managed to say before leaving the two women.
“Best I speak to Tech and Wrecker next,” Ahsoka said to Omega once they heard his bedroom door close.
The blonde nodded, and, without another word, the two left the house, headed to the plaza.
* * * *
“Rex is dead?” Wrecker had trouble grasping that. “But he just sent a holo last week,” he told Ahsoka.
“He did, Wrecker, but he died the next day. We were pretty busy avoiding Empire Tie fighters, but I brought him here with me.
Omega gasped. “He’s here? He wanted to come to Pabu?”
“I’m sorry, Omega. I should have said right away, but it’s hard to let go, you know. He wanted to be buried here with the men he admired and considered his closet brothers. He’d lost so many of his clone brothers during the war. To know you and your family survived kept him going more often than I can tell you.”
Ahsoka had the grace to blush though as she added, “He made me promise something. Now that he’s gone, I’m not sure if that’s possible. It depends on your family.”
“What’s that, Commander?” Wrecker asked in a watery voice, tears still lying on his cheeks.
“Rex wanted to be buried here, but he said he’d not go anywhere after death unless…” Ahsoka took a deep embarrassing breath.
“Unless?” Wrecker repeated with a squint of curiosity.
“Unless I promised I’d be laid to rest next to him when I die.”
Stunned into momentary silence, the brother and sister looked at her as if what she said was the most natural thing ever.
“Of course, you can come here!” Wrecker exclaimed. “Rex loved you. He’d want you close.”
“Absolutely. We’ll have a place for you at his side. Always,” Omega promised as she reached out and squeezed the Jedi’s hand. “We’ll bury him this afternoon?”
Ahsoka had no way to express what was in her heart, seeing as emotions choked her so she nodded.
“He’s on the transport ship?” Omega asked, a bit breathless with the thought.
“Yes.”
“He can rest there until we’re ready.”
The older woman nodded then politely pointed out, “I should speak with Tech now if that’s convenient.”
But Wrecker stopped her with a big hand laid gently on her wrist. “I’m gonna miss the captain. He was a good guy. I liked seeing how he reacted when General Skywalker threw him up and over then caught him. I always thought he trusted the general to catch him, but each time it was like his heart stopped for fear he’d go splat.” Wrecker broke into a big grin. “When we rescued Echo, we had to escape through a vent shaft over our heads. I threw Rex up there, and he was pissed!” From tears to mirth, Wrecker’s booming laugh rang out over the plaza. Several people smiled, and kids waved to their big friend.
“He never worried about a mission because he knew you always had his back. He asked me to tell you the cavalry had arrived for him. Does that make sense?” Ahsoka asked. She’d never asked Rex where that came from, but he would say it now and then when things went right for a change.
“Oh, I used to say that all the time. ‘Cause I was big and could help a lot. I’d shout the cavalry has arrived. I guess Rex remembered that.” Wrecker sank down in his power chair and sighed then used a large finger to wipe away a new tear. “I’m gonna miss him,” he repeated in a brokenhearted tone.
“Me too, my friend. Me too,” Ahsoka said, a gentle hand on the man’s shoulder.
** * *
“Tech is never alone anymore,” Omega told Ahsoka as they neared his home. She introduced the visitor to her sister-in-law.
“Tech’s in his workshop,” she said with a sorrowful expression. “Today is one of his lost days. He can’t quite figure out what he’s supposed to be doing or where he is.”
“I’m so sorry,” Omega said as she held the woman tightly in a warm hug. “We’ll go back and deliver the news, but it’s not good. Rex is gone.”
Rex often visited Pabu. The sister-in-law knew him but not as well as her husband did. “I’m not sure how he’ll react, being as this isn’t one of his better days,” she said as she showed them down the hall and pointed out the large shed in the back yard. “Remember, Omega, we keep the gate locked now.”
Omega nodded and explained to Ahsoka as they walked to the building, “He wandered out several weeks ago and wound up in the forest alone and scared. She locks the gate now so he has to come through the house to leave. When she goes out, he goes with her. He’s never alone anymore,” she repeated sadly.
Omega bent forward slightly, hand over her heart again, her body aching with the thought of this brother’s particular fall from grace. She waved off Ahsoka’s supporting hand. “This is just so hard to see, considering how smart he is…was. How much he values his enhancement. How much he contributed to the success of every mission and now…” Her words trailed off in grief.
Together the women sat and visited with Tech, more to get an impression of what his day was like and how he was managing. He accepted Ahsoka as Omega’s friend. When the woman mentioned Rex, his eyes lit up. “Is he coming to visit soon? He has not been here in several weeks.”
Actually, the man hadn’t been to the island in years, simply visiting through holos.
“Tech, Ahsoka has news of Rex,” Omega said, gently taking the man’s hand in both of hers. It was a testament to his disability that he had no objections to being touched though in the past he discouraged such emotional displays.
“Tech, Rex died. He and I were in a battle, and when it was over, I discovered he’d been wounded so badly that we both knew his injuries were fatal. I held him in my arms as he passed away, joining his brothers—”
“Marching far ahead,” Tech muttered, his eyes glistening.
“You remember Rex?” Omega asked softly.
“Of course, I do, silly girl,” Tech said indignantly. “He and I shared many adventures during the war.” He nodded to Ahsoka. “Thank you for telling me.” His clipped Coruscant accent became even more distinctive. Then he patted Omega’s hand, turning to his worktable but leaving them with a thought that must have been on his mind during the times he was a soldier. “Rex died as a soldier should, in battle. Well done, Captain,” he muttered softly. For a moment, clarity shone in the man’s eyes but faded as he began tinkering, forgetting the two women behind him.
* * * *
Omega motioned for Ahsoka to move in front of the man sitting at the table on his own patio. Sunlight settled into mid-day brightness across the area as he made notes on his data pad. The two never got in place before he looked up.
“Thought you could sneak up on me, did you, kid?” He grinned and waved them to chairs. “I know you, but let me think a minutes. Don’t tell me,” he said with a chuckle. “Ahsoka Tano. General Skywalker’s padawan. Maker! It’s been ages. In fact, we heard rumors that you died when the Tribunal went down. Died like Rex.” He grinned then laughed. “Like Rex, huh! That man never died. He rose like one of those flaming birds that never stop. I guess he saved you too.”
With a nod and grin, Ahsoka nodded. “Indeed,” she said but waited to see if he’d understand.
“I’m deaf, not stupid. I can read lips as long as you’re not talking as fast as Tech when he’s doing an info dump.” At the mention of his brainy brother, Hunter dropped his gaze then shifted it to the sun edging minute by minute closer to the horizon. Unless he looked at them, they couldn’t say anything. Hunter had enhanced senses, but he wasn’t stupid as he told the padawan. If he and his brothers were getting old then Rex was older. The captain was a generation one clone after all.
Besides, while the former Jedi appeared calm, his sister’s face showed signs of tears and distress.
“He’s gone, isn’t he?” he asked softly, turning his attention back to the two.
Ahsoka nodded. “He died in my arms, still giving orders.”
Hunter huffed though his eyes filled with sadness. “Sounds like the captain.”
“We actually spoke about the Batch the night before. He asked me to tell you something.”
Hunter turned more to the woman, his hands clasped in front of him on the table.
“He admired your valor and leadership. He valued your thinking, but most of all he respected your courage in going back to get a little girl who would have died otherwise. He considered you a close friend and, more importantly, a true brother.”
Omega rushed around the table and held Hunter as he wept, one hand over his eyes. He’d closed out the world in order to remember.
Once he calmed, he waved them off. “Does Echo know?”
Omega shook her head. “He’s the last one. Hunter, Ahsoka brought Rex’s body back here for burial. This afternoon. I’ll arrange it. And Rex asked that we save a place for her when her time comes.”
“Naturally,” Hunter confirmed. “Rex loved you. You’re family. Always will be.” He nodded and thanked Ahsoka, but his voice cracked, and his face collapsed into sorrow. Turning from them, he once more left the world behind.
Omega closed the gate quietly as they searched for the last Batcher, the one closest to Captain Rex.
* * * *
“But…but…” Poor Echo, tears streaming down his face, his mouth working but not a coherent word coming out. “He can’t be gone!” He thumped the padded arm of his power chair before grabbing the controls and leaving them.
Despite his sudden move, Omega knew he needed to hear whatever Ahsoka had to tell him. After all, Echo and Rex served together a long time before he joined the Batch.
“Come on, I know where he’s going,” Omega said sadly, pointing to the distant woods. “He goes there when he has a problem to solve. He and Rex used to create battle strategies together. Even as short a time as a month ago, Rex commed Echo, and they talked strategy for an hour. I think his Phoenix squadron had just lost a valuable, much-loved member.”
“Kanan Jarrus. Yeah, that was a tough time. Rex and Kanan bounced ideas off each other. Kanan didn’t trust Rex in the beginning. Rex was a clone, and Kanan was a padawan when Order 66 was issued. He saw clones take down his master. Hunter actually saved Kanan’s life by lying, telling the Empire he fell off a cliff.”
“Of all my brothers, Echo will take this the hardest.”
They entered the deep woods, quiet and warm. Dappled sunlight flitted as the breeze stirred the leaves. Birds sang sweetly among the branches. They followed the wide path until they approached the tree where Echo stopped.
Wearily he waved them over. Ahsoka folded her legs and sank to the ground in front of him, sitting cross-legged, a position familiar to Omega. She also sank to the ground, watching her brother with such sad eyes that he noticed.
“It’s okay, Megs. It had to happen sometime,” Echo said softly.
Ahsoka hummed in agreement. “Rex said that to me the day he returned from hiding. He walked past the squad I’d sent after him and stood there with his hands behind his back like he used to. Ramrod straight, at ease but ready for action. You know what the first thing was that he said to me?”
Echo and Omega both shook their heads.
“Whatever it was it was probably something ridiculous,” Echo said in a watery tone.
Now it was Ahsoka’s turn to laugh. “Oh yeah, it was. He said, ‘You got old!’ I thought about smacking him for the smart ass comment, but I was too glad to see my old friend.”
“So, what did you do?”
“I told him what you just said. It had to happen sometime.” She chuckled then gasped as tears flowed across her cheeks and emotions long tamped down surfaced. “And then I threw my arms around him, and we hugged like we’d been lost forever and finally found.”
Uncharacteristically for a Jedi or padawan, she added, “I miss him every day. The Jedi Order taught that one should never get attached to another. Attachment led to the dark side of the Force. But when the world changed, I changed. Rex and I were more than attached,” she said without explaining further.
“Yeah,” Echo rubbed the back of his neck. “We saved so many clones. We planned so many missions.” This time, it was the cybernetic man who choked up. “We had such plans for the future. He was coming here to live.”
“Really?” Omega’s head lifted, and her eyes shone.
“Yeah, kid. He wanted to drift out like us, just sitting in the sunshine.” Echo lifted his head and allowed tears to flow freely. “Like us…huh! Blind. Deaf. Crippled.”
“Brother!” Omega jumped up and hugged his neck. “No matter how Rex would have been when he got here, he would have considered himself lucky to be here with you guys. He was so proud of you.”
“He was indeed.” Ahsoka had his attention once again. “You planned missions. You helped save his skin on Rishi Moon. He always led his men, but he knew you went ahead of him at the Citadel that day in order to clear the way for him and your brothers.”
“He knew that?” Echo hung his head. “I’d have done anything for that man. He was my ori’ vod.” He saw the confusion on Ahsoka’s face. “My older brother. I looked up to him. He wasn’t only my captain but my friend.”
“Echo, Rex remembered you and the pranks you played with your batch mate Fives. He laughed every time he told us about them. He was so proud of you. How much you learned and he often felt like he was learning from you. He considered you his best friend. He wanted me to tell you this,” she paused, “and I hope I say this correctly: Nikar’ taylgar dara suum.”
Omega softly translated, “I will know you forever.” She turned to Ahsoka, “Another way of saying I love you.”
That broke the poor man. Echo put both hands over his eyes and, like Hunter, bawled ugly gasping sobs with heartbreaking words that meant nothing to the women but all to the man.
The women left, too heart sore to help the man.
* * * *
“And you, Ahsoka. What did Rex say to you,” Omega asked softly as they returned through the forest. “I know he’d not leave you out.”
This time, tears flowed copiously down the former Jedi’s cheek. She nodded and kept walking, trying to clear her throat. “Yeah. Rex…we had a bond like no one else I know or ever knew except maybe Hera and Kanan. Master Obi Wan would have said it was a Force Bond. We were apart for so long. I communicated with him, but one of his brothers intercepted it all so Rex thought I forgot him, while I thought he’d forgotten me. When he returned to me, it was like the years between the Tribunal’s crash and that moment on the Ghost never happened. We were together. Life came back together for both of us. He knew my heart, and I knew his. Never apart again.” She stopped and crossed her arms over her chest, her face turned to the burning sun. “We had no need of words between us. We knew. We knew. But when he lay dying in my arms, his head resting against my heart, we spoke what we knew all along. I love you, ‘Soka, he said. And I barely had time to tell him, I love you, Rex…and always have.”
The woman tilted her head back in an attempt to check the flow of tears. “He’s part of the Force now—that energy that makes up the galaxy. I’ll see him again. Just like when we were apart for so long, just like now. For me, it may be a long time. As Obi Wan told me one day, the clones believe their fallen brothers are simply marching far ahead, and when you die, you finally catch up with all those who have gone before you.” She cast a teary-eyed glance at Omega. “He was the finest man I ever knew. I adored him as a kid and learned to love him as I grew up. He had my heart and still does.” She paused, catching her breath, letting the tears dry on her cheeks. “I will see him again,” she repeated tenderly.
* * * *
The burial was simple. Ahsoka, Hunter, Omega, Crosshair, Wrecker and Echo minus Tech. Hunter stepped forward and spoke on behalf of the family. “A good man. An honorable man. A brother. The other half of this woman. He will be remembered when we tell stories about him. Akay te kyr bal vurel venjii.” Until the end and ever after.
Even at the latest moment, Echo and Hunter created an upright stone for Rex. His name, rank, and Jaig Eye symbol done in the light blue that the 501st wore during the war. Beside Rex’s resting place lay a flat stone with Ahsoka’s facial ‘Fulcrum’ markings on it.
Rex would walk slowly in that final march far ahead, waiting for her.
* * * *
Ahsoka joined Omega and her brothers on the beach late that night. The boys wanted to raise a toast to Rex’s life. Tech was there and seemed to be in the moment though his wife stood not far away, just in case. They brought a bottle of sparkling wine, and each held a cup.
“Echo, I think it’s only fitting that you send off Rex,” Hunter said, having checked with Ahsoka who passed the honor to the ARC trooper.
With a sniff from Wrecker and a sigh from Cross, Echo cleared his raw throat. Crying for hours left it as sore as his heart.
Lifting his glass, he sighed. “To you. Marching ahead. Into the stars. See you soon. To Rex.”
Each one raised their glass to the horizon and dark sky where a million stars glimmered. A million clones…brothers…up there, waiting for their batch mates and friends to join them.
“To Rex.