Work Text:
They are running out of options. Running out of time. Their window for a successful exfil is rapidly closing, and with droids on their tail, and Grievous somewhere on board, the likelihood of their squads leaving alive is quickly diminishing.
Rex needs to get both his and Cody's men off of this damn ship, and fast. And that means a plan that no-one is going to like. Rex isn't too keen on it himself, which is never a good sign. He turns to their remaining men, fanned out across both sides of the corridor. Blue and gold armour squeezed between the bulkheads, always far fewer in number than he would like.
"Right, I've got a plan," Rex announces, watching with amusement as several helmets snap in his direction. "Hardcase - got any of your special brews with you?"
Hardcase only cackles in response and tosses over one of his highly questionable explosives that Rex normally pretends not to know exist. Rex catches it in one hand, and tucks it in a pouch under his kama. Rex then toggles the comm channels, bringing together the ranking troopers for this gaggle of men into one audio channel.
"Commander, you're with me. Jesse, Fives; you two get everyone else to the extraction point."
Jesse glances between Cody and himself. "Uh, sir? What are you planning to do?" he asks, confusion evident in his voice.
"The Commander and I are going to run a little bit of decoy."
Jesse looks as if he's about to protest when Fives places a hand on Jesse's shoulder and shakes his head.
"Rishi," Rex's ARC mutters. There's several layers to parse from that tone. Rex isn't sure whether to feel offended at the layer that seems deeply amused by the recollection of non-standard tactics being utilised on that distant moon. It's not quite as reckless as that mission, though he guesses it's not all that far off.
Jesse stares at Rex for a beat longer before he nods. "Yessir. Alright, we'll, err, see you there, sirs."
The pair of them promptly usher the rest of the men away, hurrying down the corridor towards the designated extraction point. Rex swiftly unclips his kama, resettling it over the top of his belt kit and holsters. Cody watches without a word, his blaster kept at the ready. Eventually, the sound of their men's footsteps is replaced entirely by the distant clanking of metal feet. Cody remains silent until the last man is out of sight.
"I'm not going to like this plan, am I, Rex?"
Rex pulls free his plan from his belt and dangles them in between them.
"I'm going to need you to put these on me and shove me against the bulkhead."
There's a pause.
Rex knows from the tilt in Cody's helmet, that his eyebrow is raised right into his hairline.
"Kinky."
"Shut up."
Cody, kudos to the man, takes Rex’s binders from him, smoothly turning him around in the same movement.
"I don't like this plan," he comments as the binders snap close. His warm gloved hand presses the key into Rex’s palm.
Rex chuckles. "You don't like any of my plans," he ribs, gently shunting Cody's shoulder with his hands now restrained. "You have a better idea?"
Cody sighs.
"I think it would be better if you were on the floor," he says eventually, his helmet tilted again consideringly.
"Want me under your boot, Commander?" Rex teases, just because he can.
Cody jostles him and Rex can hear Cody's eye roll from how loud it is.
"For your plan to work," Cody says flatly, soldiering on past Rex’s prodding. "They're going to need to see both of us, otherwise you're just going to get yourself shot."
The clanking of metal footsteps on durasteel plating draws nearer. Rex faces the enemy and takes a knee, his kama flaring across the floor.
"Showtime, Commander."
"Stop! Hold your fire. Otherwise, I'll shoot him," Cody declares behind Rex with all of the authority of the Marshall Commander of the 7th Sky.
Rex smiles under his helmet as the droids draw to a surprised halt, several of them bumping into each other. Cody's voice commands entire battlefields, shifts the tides of war. To be confined with it at short range in a far-too-small hallway must have caused several of the droids to short-circuit.
"Wait!"
"Aren't we supposed to be the ones shooting at them?"
"Call the General."
A droid with yellow paint brings up a tiny holodisk in its metal fingers. Several more droids crowd around it, craning to see the tiny projection of the Head Clanker.
"What is it?" General Grievous demands with that rasping wheeze of his.
"General, sir, this clone is threatening to shoot the other one. What do you want us to do, sir?"
A cry of frustration echoes down the corridor from the tinny speaker. "Stupid droids! Why are you-" Grievous trails off mid-tirade and peers at them both.
Rex can only imagine the image the pair of them make; Cody standing over him, his blaster pointed at the back of Rex's head.
"Kenobi's Commander and Skywalker's Captain? Yes. Bring them to me. Immediately!"
The droid salutes, almost dropping the holodisk. "Yes, General!"
Grievous' hologram disappears and the droids point at them.
"Take them to the bridge!"
A round of Roger, Rogers later and Rex tentatively pushes up to standing. Cody quietly accepts the binders on his own wrists from the droids as his blaster is wrested from him. Rex sidles against Cody as they are marched to the bridge and hopes he isn't about to get them both killed.
The walk to the bridge takes them a substantial distance away from the exfil point. A fact that is both a relief for the safety of their men and a concern for their own. Rex knows it's going to be a mad dash across the ship when the moment comes.
Being in the same space once again with the Head Clanker is not something Rex thought he would be doing today when he woke up this morning, and certainly not handcuffed with Cody at his side. Cody, for his part, is watching the comings and goings of Grievous' bridge with immense interest. Rex chuckles to himself at the thought of Cody busily taking holopics to study later.
Rex suppresses the nervous thought of 'if', reassuring himself that if the plan had no chance at all, Cody would have absolutely informed him of such.
What they didn't account for, however, was Grievous immediately contacting their Generals' to gloat.
"General Kenobi! Skywalker," Grievous wheezes. "It appears you are missing some very important equipment."
Grievous has the pair of them dragged stumbling into the view of the holocam - having them be the unfortunate witnesses of the dawning realisation on both of their Jedi's faces. Rex misses what he's sure is a very snarky quip from Kenobi as he watches Skywalker's face turn stormy.
'Oh shit,' he thinks. 'This was not a part of the plan.'
Kenobi places a steadying hand on Skywalker's shoulder.
"It would be in your best interest, Grievous, to release them. Unharmed."
Grievous laughs, and Rex accelerates his plan's timeline before his General explodes or does something else generally inadvisable. He's already slipping the key into the lock before Grievous concludes his wheezing laughter. Rex’s hand curls around Hardcase's special brew. His fingers prime the device.
"Be right with you, sirs," he says, and throws the device directly at the Head Clanker.
The device plinks off of Grievous, expressions of confusion not having yet reached their COs' faces, and never able to appear on the metal faceplate of the droid General. Rex doesn't wait for their expressions to catch up, grabbing Cody around the waist and bodily launching the pair of them off of the control centre and behind a row of consoles.
Hardcase's completely-regulation-device explodes with a yield far higher than anything that comes from the quartermaster's stores, and Rex wonders how Hardcase has managed to remove his eyebrows whilst his helmet remains on his head. Cody swears something violent from beneath him, body twisting in his bindings.
Rex takes pity on the man, rolling him just enough to shoot his hands free with a concealed blaster, before thrusting it into Cody's hands and hoping the man doesn’t shoot him with it for the plan.
"Thanks," Cody says instead and pops up from their position to nail a droid in the faceplate.
Rex joins him, the pair of them providing a barrage of firepower as pandemonium reigns on the bridge. He can't spot Grievous in the plumes of smoke and blasterfire, and doesn't particularly want to wait around for the Head Clanker to recover. Rex reaches for Cody after a brief lull, pulling him towards the doors.
Both of them barrel out of the bridge, alarms wailing - and collide with Fives.
"Go!" Cody bellows, and Fives doesn’t need telling twice. The three of them peg it down the corridor. Rex feels almost nostalgic.
Fives laughs. "I'd ask what happened but I think I can guess."
Rex topples three droids as they round a bend. "I thought I told you and Jesse to get everyone off of this ship?" Rex asks.
Cody slides across the next junction, kicking the legs out from under one droid as he shoots another in the chassis. Fives takes another two down with twin shots.
"Oh yea, mission completed," Fives reports jovially. "Then I thought I'd come back and help." He laughs again. "Not that you two needed it."
There's a squad of droids down the next corridor. This time, Rex throws a standard issue detonator. It takes out the droids, but Rex can't help but feel mildly disappointed by the lack of oomph in the explosion. From the glance he receives from Cody, he can tell the man also feels similarly. Rex suspects Hardcase is going to be making a fair few of these in due course. Cody is probably going to order an instruction manual be created.
They finally skid around the last corner, before charging up the docking tunnel. Fives is shouting at the men to withdraw the connecting walkway as they dive through the hatch and onto the waiting shuttle.
The three of them land in a somewhat ungainly heap for two Commanding Officers and an ARC, but Rex doesn't have it in him to care as he feels the ship detach and promptly depart. Relief rushes through him with the knowledge that they were able to get everyone away safely. Rex stands, offering a hand to Cody, hauling him to his feet. Cody dusts the scorched soot from his shoulder as Rex pulls Fives to standing.
"There you are, Commander," Rex says teasingly, taking off his helmet. "I think that plan went rather well."
"I think you are a menace, Captain," Cody responds, unable to suppress the exhilaration clear in his voice; his vod incapable of hiding despite his face being covered.
Fives pointedly looks at the remnants of the binders on Cody’s wrists. "Does the Captain have a plan to remove those, Commander?" he asks, his face a picture of contrived innocence.
Cody pauses as he hands Rex back his blaster. Cody's visor settles on Fives' unrepentantly amused face for a long moment. Unfortunately for Cody, it's been a long time since that was effective on coralling the ARC.
Fives chuckles, unperturbed. "Until next time, sirs," he says with a half-arsed salute, before sauntering up to the cockpit to gossip with Jesse.
Cody waits until Fives is out of sight before removing his helmet. Rex watches as a smile curls across his face.
"Next time," he says wryly, "perhaps we should tell our Generals the plan?"
Rex groans. Cody slings an arm over his shoulder in solidarity. Their Generals are going to be fussing about this for weeks.