Chapter Text
“While the cataclysmic storm on Kamino was tragic,” someone is saying, and Padme can tell from his voice very clearly that he has no remorse or sympathy over it whatsoever. It wasn’t his home that was destroyed, and this attitude has become so commonplace amidst the Senate. It’s infuriating. “The reality is that without the production of new clone troopers, we are vulnerable. Admiral Rampart's proposed Defense Recruitment Bill will keep us protected.”
“I concur with the honorable delegate of the Banking Clan,” another senator interjects, bringing her pod forward, “A new conscripted military is what this galaxy needs. One comprised of the people, who fight for the people. “
“This recruitment bill has been discussed, debated, and tabled each session for a reason,” Senator Pamlo interjects, “There are more pressing matters in the galaxy right now than the costly creation of a new military. The war is over.”
“Perhaps where you reside, Senator Pamlo. But the Mid and Outer Rims are rife with insurgents. We must be protected.”
“The deployment of the clone army was a result of the Emergency Powers Act, put forward by then Chancellor Palpatine during the Separatist crisis,” Bail cuts in. Padme sags with relief at hearing him – she does not have the energy to storm to the front of the Senate and yell at anybody about their complete lack of logic and empathy. By the goddesses, she misses the Republic. “Shifting to a military of citizens swearing loyalty fundamentally goes against the principles of this body.”
“I concur with Senator Organa,” Padme interjects, bringing her own pod forward. She knows her voice is not overly respected in the Senate, but that won’t make her back down. It never has, even if she is so, so tired. She knows what is right, and she’ll never stop fighting for it. “The war is over. Any threats or insurgents are of the same origin of the Separatists. We fought one war already. Why can’t we try a peaceful approach this time, when we already know the outcome of the first war?”
“If they are the same, they should be treated the same!” the Banking Clan senator snaps, “The Empire needs the strength to crush these insurgents so another war doesn’t start!”
“All this will do is encourage another war to break out - ” she tries to argue but voices are already clamoring over her, in support of the Banking Clan senator.
Why? Why can’t the Senate see that action like this was exactly what started the Clone Wars in the first place?
“Where does the Emperor stand on this issue, since he remains absent from these proceedings?” Bail finally interrupts.
“The Emperor, as always, trusts this delegation to act in the best interests of all galactic citizens,” Mas Amedda replies. Padme is still struggling to accept sometimes that Palpatine had himself appointed Emperor. She knew he was abusing his power constantly throughout the war and she knew it wouldn’t end well, but he still mentored her a lot when she was young and there is a part of her that always trusted him. Until now.
“And what about the interests of the clone troopers?” Riyo Chuchi inquires, bringing her own pod forward. “Why are they not included within this legislation?” The question is unexpected, but still legitimate and appreciated. The clones have never had the voice or right to speak in the Senate, no matter how much they did for the Republic – a Republic that no longer exists. Allegedly, the war was won, but Padme can never shake the knowledge that in a far more predominant sense, they lost everything they were fighting for.
“The clone army cannot sustain given their accelerated aging and should be slated for decommissioning,” the other senator they were debating with replies.
Decommissioning?
The Senators are flippantly talking about outright skilling living beings because they don’t see them as useful anymore??? She’s not really surprised, but that doesn’t change how angry the comment makes her. Padme is familiar with the clones. She worked with them multiple times in the clone wars, and both Anakin and Ahsoka were close with them. They spoke of them constantly.
“You’re proposing that we execute millions of living beings because they are no longer suiting our purposes?” Padme demands. “Is that how you would treat the senior citizens on your own planet?”
“The clones are not citizens,” the Senator throws back.
“They are not droids to simply be shut down. These are soldiers who defended us, defended our worlds,” Riyo argues.
“Mmm, I didn’t realize you spoke on the clones' behalf, Senator Chuchi,” the other Senator replies. It’s a blatant way of attempting to make her back down, but Padme knows Riyo is too stubborn for that, for as gentle and naive as she might be.
“If we don’t, who will?” Riyo argues, not deterred in the slightest, “After all they have sacrificed, you now wish to discard them? Leave them with nothing? Is that how we repay them for their service? Is that what this Empire stands for? How can we debate commissioning a new army without a plan in place to care for our current one?”
“I hear your concerns,” Admiral Rampart speaks up, moving his pod forward, “Allow me to assure this delegation that provisions are in place to aid the clones as they begin to be phased out.”
That reassures Padme a little bit but she doesn’t know why the Senate hasn’t already been informed of anything about it until Riyo brought it up. Considering that Rampart is the one pushing for the stormtroopers, she doesn’t know if she can believe that the legislation is
There’s also the fact that the Republic simply does not have the resources to take care of everyone it needs to. So adding even more people to that is not going to be beneficial in the slightest. They certainly don’t have the resources to essentially support two entire armies.
“What do you know about their needs, Admiral?” Riyo replies sharply, “Have you asked them? Or do they not get a say in their future?”
“I am open to discussing any and all provisions you, or the clones, have in mind. If we work together, I am confident we can adequately address their concerns,” Admiral Rampart replies. Padme instinctively does not like him. She understands the desire for citizens to sign into the military – it is a far less morally questionable than what could just as well be considered a slave army. Anakin, she knows, is in full support of having an… army who fully consented to their role, is what he always says, though that comes with a very long string of complications.
Primarily, that includes figuring out a fate for the clones, and because of this bill and the Empire, and all those in charge, Padme knows there is very, very little hope anything good will come of it.
“Well, until then, I motion to table the vote on the Defense Recruitment Bill,” Riyo says firmly.
“I second,” Bail speaks up.
“So do I,” Padme interjects. “There are other places we need to be spending our financing right now. The refugees the last war created need us more than anyone else. They are our responsibility and we need to put them before taking care of any army.”
She’s all for giving the clones rights but this is an issue that also needs to be addressed.
It’s also a way to put off the vote on the legislation a bit longer but not forever. Hopefully, they’ll be able to make the Senate see reason by then, but she’s not very hopeful.
***
It’s been months since the Republic fell, since the Empire formed, but Anakin is still getting used to how different everything is now. The Jedi are gone, and instead of training and focusing on the war, he… has to train a group of Fallen Jedi. Sidious called them the Inquisitors. Anakin knows he’s supposed to train them and make them into… servants of the Empire. But that is not easy.
The only one who isn’t beyond infuriating is Barriss Offee, because apparently, she was allowed to come out of prison after what she did if she agreed to join the Empire. And the last person he wants to have to work with is Barriss after what she did to Ahsoka, but she’s genuinely the least frustrating of all of them. All the other Inquisitors are doing is fighting for who gets higher status and position, caring absolutely nothing about the galaxy they’re supposed to be protecting.
They don’t care about the will of the Force or to follow it or doing what’s right. It’s all about their positions and their own selfish interests.
It’s… nothing like having to work with the other Jedi. The war was destroying their principles and he knows that. He saw far too personally how far they were willing to go for their own agenda. They weren’t following the Force or their very own Code anymore either, all the while blinding themselves by claiming that they were. That’s why he couldn’t believe in them anymore, not when he saw Windu turning on everything Anakin thought the Jedi stood for. But sometimes –
Sometimes it’s still hard to believe that they’re all gone.
The night at the Temple still haunts him. It… always will. Both because of what he had to do and – and because of everything he lost there. Nearly all the clones he took there are gone, killed by the Jedi.
So many died there. Anakin knows it wasn’t his fault – he’s not the one who made the decision to commit treason, but – but it still feels like it. It feels like he should have… Their way of life is gone. Everything he fought for. Everyone he knew and fought with.
All his clones are gone, too. Either killed by the Jedi at the Temple or by Maul on the way back from Coruscant. He has no idea what happened to Ahsoka. To his padawan – she would have stood with him if she were here. But now, she’s out there alone, and Anakin… has no idea what happened to her. He doesn’t know how to find her or when he’ll ever see her again.
Rex is gone, too. He must have been lost along with all the other boys. He never imagined when he sent him to Mandalore that he was never coming back.
Obi-Wan is… gone, too. All Anakin knows is that he’s alive but he can imagine far too well how it would end if they ever saw each other again. He’d stand with the Jedi and that would mean… He doesn’t want to think about it.
The only ones he has left now are Padme and his children. Who at least are alive. Sidious kept his promise to help them.
The aching, crushing loneliness never lifts or gets better, and he’s so tired. He wants to give the twins a better life, but… that is so much easier said than done. There’s so little Anakin can actually do to help them. He’s tried. Is trying. Will never stop trying, but the galaxy is a mess and there’s…
The sound of the door to Padme’s apartment opening draws Anakin out of his thoughts. She must be back from the Senate. It’s strange to actually be living here now. It’s what he always wanted but he never wanted it to happen like this. When he wanted to leave the Order to just raise his children in peace, he never imagined it would be like this. He wants back what he lost, what he had before, but it’s never coming back. None of what happened can be undone or changed.
Padme doesn’t look happy when she comes into the living room. Then again, Anakin doesn’t think there have been many moments she’s looked happy in the slightest since the Empire formed. Nothing is the same between them anymore. It was supposed to be better once they didn’t have to hide anymore. He hates how it feels like everything is worse now, somehow.
He doesn’t like the way the tension hangs in the air between them. Padme doesn’t even say anything in greeting to him right off. She is probably still distracted with whatever happened at the Senate, but…
“How was the Senate today?” Anakin finally asks her. He’s used to listening to her complain about how frustrating the Senators are being, in the little time they used to have together, and he’d tell her a bit about what he was doing.
Padme looks up, expression flickering with irritation. “As well as it always is. The Empire’s only made the Senators even worse.”
He doesn’t know if she’s wrong or not but he knows she’s been furious about the Empire from the start. Debating that point won’t help. “What’s the issue?”
“The Defense Recruitment Bill,” she replies frustratedly, “The last war represented a failure to listen. If the Senate goes through with forming another military when the war is supposed to be over, it’s only going to make the tensions rise even higher. Palpatine has always been absent from these proceedings but he’s the one with the power to stop this, if he wanted to.” He doesn’t miss the sheer bitterness in her voice as she talks about him. “The motions in the Senate aren’t going anywhere. You’re closer to him than anyone now. If you would ask him too - ”
Not this again.
She asked the same thing of him only hours before everything fell. When she’d asked then, it felt like she was just trying to use his friendship with Palpatine, the exact same way the Jedi had demanded of him only hours before. It was like - like – The only thing anyone ever seems to want of him is to use him when they need it.
But now, he can do what she’s demanding of him even less. Palpatine – Sidious – isn’t his friend anymore. He’s – his master. Anakin knows what he is. He knew what kneeling to the Sith that day really meant. He’s right back where he started, if he was ever truly free to begin with.
Before, he thought what Sidious was saying about the Force, about everything, made far more sense that the Jedi. He was the one who was always there to guide him when he needed it, when things the masters at the Temple said didn’t make any sense. But he’s not who Anakin thought. He’s not doing what he promised. He’s certainly not following the will of the Force anymore than the Jedi are. He’s – he’s a master and Anakin can really see that on him now.
He can’t ask him anything. That’s – that’s not his place. Anakin doesn’t get a say in any of what happens – he’s sent on missions, and it’s not his place to worry about the political side. It never has been. Sidious is his master. “Don’t drag me into this.”
“You’re the only one who can do anything,” Padme throws back, “This has to stop before the galaxy descends into war again. The least you can do is try.”
As if him doing something so completely out of line is going to help something??? If this is what Sidious wants, he’ll make it happen. “That’s not my place, Padme.”
“He’s your friend,” she snaps back, “This isn’t even about politics. You can talk to him on a personal level.”
As if there’s anything left to their friendship, if it was ever real to begin with. And even if there was, he’s so tired of everyone constantly trying to use him. He trusted Palpatine with everything and in the end, that was only about using him too. He’s so tired.
He lost everything. His entire life is gone. Anakin thought – he thought it would be fine, but he was wrong, and the constant, depthless loathing for – for himself, for Sidious, for the Jedi never fades. It never will. There is no way for things to change. He already tried, and all he can do is keep trying, but he’s so tired.
Everyone is gone. Obi-Wan. Ahsoka. Rex. All his men. Everyone.
Even Palpatine, because he was never who Anakin thought he was all those years.
Padme and his children are all that are left, and this is what he fought for and dreamed of but Anakin never thought it would be like this. He never thought – choosing them would mean he lost everyone else. He never dreamed of a galaxy like this. It’s not what he wanted. It’s not… He tried. He did everything he could and more, but he knows what his place is.
The only other thing he’s had left, that he’s always had, is the Force. And that reassurance means something, keeps him from losing himself entirely to despair and emptiness, but it still doesn’t change that his family is gone and nothing is bringing them back.
“I can’t order the Emperor,” Anakin throws back sharply, “If you have a concern, bring it up with him.” He realizes, as an afterthought – always as an afterthought, because he can’t do anything right, can he? – that was insensitive, but all he and Padme have been doing since the Empire formed is fighting with each other.
“You’re not even going to try?” she demands, no less heatedly.
Why does she keep acting as though he can control everything? He was supposed to be able to. Supposed to be strong enough but he’s never strong enough. For anything. Except just once to keep her and his children alive, but only to lose everything else instead. “There’s nothing I can do.”
Leia screams from the bedroom suddenly.
It sounds like her and she’s the one who always gets agitated when the emotions around her are turbulent – Luke still sleeps through anything.
“I’ll get her,” Anakin volunteers, turning to leave the room. Maybe partly because he’s just looking for an escape out of the conversation though he knows it won’t be the last time Padme brings something like this up.
Luke and Leia, but especially Leia, are extremely entuned with the emotions of those around them. Luke gets more sullen and fussy about it, while Leia always interjects with screaming, and it’s very effective.
He loves them both so much. He just wishes that would be enough to help.
***
Anakin did not need to spend the next three hours putting Luke and Leia back to bed, but there’s no one else he wants to be with right now. No one else he wants to be with who he ever can be with again, anyway.
It’s the sound of voices filtering in from the next room that catches his attention suddenly.
“I spoke to the clones about what they would want to get out of this,” Riyo Chuchi’s voice is saying, from the next room. Anakin would recognize her voice and the light softness of her Force presence anywhere. He doesn’t know her that well but they were loosely friends during the war. She was one of the Senators he worked with the most, one of the ones who Ahsoka became friends with.
“And?” Padme asks, “I take it Admiral Rampart’s bill doesn’t meet any of their needs.”
“I’ll have to go over that with him in person.” She breaths out heavily. “But that’s not what’s… troubling me this much. When I was at the clone bar, one of the clones… came to talk to me privately. What he was telling me - I don’t know what to believe.”
Anakin frowns, moving closer to the door.
He knows this legislation is going to impact them but she’s obviously worried about something, not something he’s heard of yet. He doesn’t really know what things are like for them now, with the Empire trying to phase them out. He hasn’t been around any much since all of his own boys are gone. It hurts too much to see them all, knowing that none of them are his because all the ones he knew are gone forever.
But still, the clones deserve to have the chance to choose a life, but just forcing them out is… not what he thinks most of them want.
Cody didn’t. He left the Empire. He talked to Anakin one last time before leaving. He hadn’t been clear, but Anakin had known, and he understands. It still hurts, and will always hurt that one of his only friends with the Empire was willing to walk away, but Cody deserved to make his own choice. It had hurt, but Anakin was grateful at least one of them could have a life of their choosing. After everything Cody did for the Republic, and for Anakin, he deserved that chance.
“The trooper told me that the storm that destroyed Kamino wasn’t a storm. He said that Admiral Rampart ordered it bombarded from space and has been covering it up ever since,” Chuchi says.
Wait.
What?!
Rampart did that? The – the Empire? He shouldn’t be surprised. He’s not really, but horror still floods him full force. He needs to know what she’s talking about.
Anakin heads out into the living room and both of them pause, looking up.
“General Skywalker?” Chuchi greets. She’s not surprised to see him here – the word of his marriage with Padme is public now so that’s not surprising.
“I overheard what you were saying,” he explains.
She nods. “I don’t know what to think about it. I don’t know how someone wouldn’t have come forward already if this was true. The trooper said Admiral Rampart made sure no one could but I don’t understand.”
His own mind is whirling. The news doesn’t shock him half as much as it seems to be her even if he’s appalled and so angry. What happened to the clones who were there? Did he just have them all killed senselessly? And that’s not to even mention the entire Kaminoan population. And he may not have a high opinion of them because they literally created a slave army, but that doesn’t mean every single one of them deserved to die.
“The destruction of Kamino did not make sense to me,” Anakin admits. Something had felt off, both in the Force and from a logical point of view. There weren’t any solar flares or unusual planetary activity right before, to cause a storm of that magnitude, that he’d heard of. “I… see no reason to doubt what the trooper is saying.”
That this is happening right before Rampart started pushing for a new military makes him even more suspicious.
“You think this is true?” Chuchi asks, alarm leaking into her voice. She is… naive in a lot of ways. He always liked that about her.
“What I would question is how high up this goes,” Padme interjects, “I find it hard to believe Rampart was the only one involved.”
That’s a fair point, too.
Though he knows what she’s implying and he doesn’t appreciate it. He can't outright deny it when he doesn’t know, though. Sidious isn’t who he thought he was. He may have made some efforts to restore peace as he promised but it’s nothing like – like how Anakin thought he’d be handling it. Not that it’s his place to say anything about it.
“Where is the trooper?” Anakin inquires, “If I could speak to him…”
“No one knows where he went,” Chuchi replies, “I send my guards to search for him but he’s hiding somewhere.”
That, in and of itself, means that what he’s saying is obviously true. This isn’t really something Anakin belongs getting involved in, at least not without taking it to Sidious first, but he… doesn’t want to do that. This is – it’s personal. It’s for the clones, even if all his boys are gone and nothing he does will bring them back. He doesn’t want to be told to leave the issue to someone else.
And besides, with Padme getting involved… he has to get to the bottom of it. This could be dangerous for her, but he knows she’s never going to back down now. The last he can do, for her sake and the twins, is try to find the answers quickly.
“I will help you search for him. I would like to speak with him myself,” Anakin decides.
***
The underworld is as dark and gloomy as ever. Anakin has serious reservations about being down here, much less alone with Riyo, but when he heard she’d found the clone, he had to come. He needs to know what’s going on for real. He needs to hear it all from the clone himself.
“Wait here,” Riyo instructs her guards, “General Skywalker will accompany me.”
They wait at the speeder as the two of them move in closer. He’s inside a building, in a dark alleyway.
“Easy, trooper,” Riyo says gently, slowly rounding the corner.
“Senator?” he asks.
Anakin rounds it behind her – he’s expecting an attacker, though right now, they’re clear.
The clone blinks at him, surprise flickering into the Force. “General?”
“I heard from her,” Anakin explains, “About Admiral Rampart. I had to know for myself, but you were hard to track down.”
“What are you doing here?” the clone demands, backing away. He’s terrified. Anakin can feel it.
“We believe you were telling the truth about Admiral Rampart,” Riyo replies, “I want you to help me.”
“No. No,” the clone protests, backing away, “I’m leaving once he gets here.”
“Who?” Riyo inquires.
“Someone who can make me disappear, where the Empire can’t find me. How did you even find me? Were you followed? If you can get to me, so can they.”
“Who would have followed us?” Anakin asks.
“The Empire. Rampart sent an – an assassin after us. They already killed Cade. My life is in danger. Yours will be. too.”
Anakin isn’t a stranger to danger – he grew up with it, rivals in it, lives with it. That’s what defines him. He’s not afraid of danger. All that matters is justice, and he will find it. “If what you’re saying is true, we need evidence,” he replies. The assassin thing is unsurprising. Padme had many such encounters in the time of the Republic, too, though he doesn’t understand why there’s no investigation. There should be.
“Those who perished, including the clones who died trying to speak the truth, they deserve justice. Testify before the Senate. Rampart must be held accountable,” Riyo requests.
“You don’t need me,” the clone argues, “The evidence you want is aboard Rampart’s ship. Check the bridge’s command log. I saved a backup to the central system.”
It’s good thinking, though that’s not surprising – the clones have always been thorough. It’s impressive he was able to do this, though. “What’s your name?” Anakin asks. “Can you tell us more about what happened to Cade and this assassin?” It must be one of his brothers. The clones often have pairs or squads that are inseparably close – usually, two, because more than two can’t stick together long.
Rex and Cody.
Echo and Fives.
Jessie and Kix.
All… gone now.
“I’m Slip,” the clone replies, gaze darting around frantically. He’s still panicking. “Cade and I were leaving the clone bar together when an assassin shot at us. It hit him and I barely escaped.”
Anakin’s about to reply when he senses a flicker of something in the Force. Something isn’t right but he can’t place where –
A blaster shot rings out suddenly. It strikes Slip in the chest and he falls. It all happens so fast, too fast for Anakin to react.
“Find cover,” he warns, pushing Riyo to safety behind him as he looks up, the direction the shot came from. Another shot rings out – this time directed at him – but he senses it coming this time, sidestepping right in time.
It’s a sniper then. Someone sent to silence Slip, just like they did with Cade.
He throws a glance back to the clone, unmoving on the ground. He’s already dead, the shot having gone right through his heart. Another clone who died in front of him while Anakin wasn’t able to be fast enough to help him, to save him. As always.
“I need to get out of here,” Anakin says, ducking into the shadows next to Riyo. Her eyes are wide with panic – she’s not like Padme. She’s never been in this kind of danger before.
They take off running together, the assassin still shooting down at them. But the direction of the firing is changing which means the assassin must be on the move. He’s probably coming down here to deal with them. That’s good. As long as he can get Riyo somewhere safe first.
They make it to another room of the building when Anakin senses the person entering. It’s dark and smokey in here, but he doesn’t need that to see. He pushes Riyo into the shadows and takes off himself, tracking where he can sense the assassin.
He isn’t hard to find. He’s dressed entirely in black armor, with a rifle. He’s completely concealed in the shadows as Anakin stealthily creeps up behind him, jumping him before he can go in Riyo’s pursuit.
The assassin hits the floor with a grunt, rifle dropping but he’s clearly just as skilled with physical fighting. They roll across the floor as they fight – This is the person who just killed another one of the clones and Anakin has no intention of letting him get away. The assassin is fast, though. He’s obviously well-trained for this, whoever he is.
Anakin finally shoves him back with the Force into a nearby wall. He stumbles, losing his footing from the force of it. A blaster shot rings out right behind him then and Anakin looks up sharply, but the stun blast hits the assassin instead and he goes down, motionless.
He’s half expecting it to be one of Riyo’s guards who came to his aid, as he slowly turns around. But then the sheer familiarity of the Force presence hits him, the familiar rocky, earthiness of it that he hasn’t felt in so long.
“Rex?” Anakin breathes. It’s him, the clone he fought alongside throughout the entire Clone Wars, the one he trusted so deeply and missed so much. The one he entrusted Ahsoka with when he sent them away to Mandalore together, thinking they would return, and everything would be fine, but he was as wrong about that as everything.
Rex.
Rex himself pauses, pulling his hood back to reveal his face – the same, but older and more worn. “General.” His shock and the faintest tinge of sorrow are radiating into the Force, almost like on some level, he expected to see Anakin here.
“I thought you were dead,” Anakin breathes, moving closer. “The cruiser – I – I’m sorry. All that time, I thought…” He doesn’t even know. Words fail him, and his mind is incapable of processing anything rationally. He’s been on missions before, fought in countless battles. He knows what to do.
“Captain Rex? What is going on?” Riyo asks worriedly. She’s still – understandably – shaken up.
“I was hoping you could tell me. I came to meet a clone contact of mine when I heard the blaster fire,” Rex answers.
“Slip came here to meet you?” Anakin queries, baffled. It should not be too surprising, to be fair – if there was anyone willing to aid clones leaving the Empire, it would be Rex. Though why he never returned is not something Anakin understands, either.
“I’ve been getting out whichever clones want to leave,” Rex replies. The way he keeps looking at him, he obviously wants to talk as much as Anakin does but they need to get somewhere safe and get Riyo out of here. “What happened to Slip?”
“Slip told me about what truly happened on Kamino,” Riyo responds, “I wanted him to testify before the Senate.”
“Someone was sent to make sure that would never happen,” Rex says gravely.
But the question is who? “I do not know if Rampart did this of his own or if the command came from… someone above him,” Anakin interjects. He needs answers to that even if he’s almost afraid to know.
Rex nods, crouching on the floor next to the assassin and pushing a button on his helmet to open it. And it’s –
What?
Anakin breathes in sharply.
“A clone?” Riyo gasps, “Why would a trooper do such a thing?”
Anakin wants to deny it, to say it’s impossible, but he feels it. He could sense it earlier, too, though he wasn’t sure what it was. This is no ordinary clone. The Force around him is… clouded, in a way entirely foreign to him. The presence is half-empty and twisted in the same way all clones’ are – their aging alters their minds and presences – but it’s fogged over and dark, hidden by something… else.
“Something about him is not right,” Anakin speaks up. He cannot figure out what it is but there’s something wrong with him.
“He’s not a trooper,” Rex agrees, frowning, “I suggest we question him somewhere more hidden. And I have just the place.”
Anakin nods his agreement.
This is the first time they’ve worked together in so long. Over half a year already. He can’t believe it’s been so long. He’s missed him more than words could ever describe but – There is so much he needs to ask him.
They fly down to somewhere in the Underworld together. It’s not an area Anakin is familiar with. When would Rex have learned about it?
“Where is this place?” Anakin inquires.
“It belongs to some friends of mine. Well, they were actually Ahsoka’s friends, but they’ve been helping out.”
His heart flutters. “What happened to her? I never knew. I sent you away to Mandalore, and no one ever came back.”
Rex sighs. “We were sent after her when Order 66 came out. She let Maul out as a diversion. She was only able to get me out. The rest of the cruiser went down.”
Ahsoka let Maul out. “You got the order?” Anakin breathes, heart pounding. “Why? And – and why would you have followed it? You know she’s not a Jedi.” Something’s not right. Rex wouldn’t do that, would he?
“It all goes back to Fives,” he answers, “All the clones have inhibitor chips. I didn’t know what it was until then. I – I tried to stop it, but Sidious said the words, and I… I couldn’t. I shot at her. We shot at her. We nearly killed her.”
Anakin feels faint. He doesn’t think he’s capable of processing this in the slightest. It doesn’t make sense. Why would Sidious have done that? Ahsoka wasn’t a Jedi. She would have understood. Right? He doesn’t know, but…
The clones were mind-controlled. Fives died for nothing. Anakin could have stopped all of this, but he failed. He didn’t.
His master tried to have Ahsoka killed.
His boys – that’s Maul’s doing. Ahsoka’s doing. He doesn’t understand how she could have done that, but she was trying to survive, and she’s not wrong that their boys would have preferred to die than hurt her. She made the choice for them. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.
“You left the Empire?”
“I spent my whole life defending the Republic. Can’t stop now.”
They should deal with it later, Anakin thinks. Maybe – it is hard to accept that he’s working against Rex. In truth, that’s not a reality he can fathom. Anakin always thought he and Rex would fight side by side forever. He knew it would probably not be so simple, because Anakin knew he wouldn’t stay fighting forever if he was going to marry and settle down.
But that doesn’t mean he expected them to end up on opposing sides of the conflict.
A conflict that he no longer even knows where he stands in, after hearing what Sidious had done to Ahsoka. He tried to kill her. He mind-controlled the clones. Anakin can’t forget any of that. And he’s not bringing peace the way he promised even if Anakin knows it’s not that simple. He doesn’t… know what to believe anymore.
Rex restrains the clone assassin and they wait for him to awaken. “Nice of you to join us,” Rex greets stiffly when the clone finally starts to move, “You got a name?”
The clone pointedly looks away from them, ignoring the question.
“You’re not wearing any identifiable markings,” Rex presses, “Who do you work for?”
Silence.
Clearly, he has no intention of talking.
“Don’t want to talk about yourself? Fine. Tell me whose orders you were following and I’ll let you go.”
The clone actually twitches at that. “No you won’t, Captain Rex.” He says the name like he has something personal against him. Anakin has no idea why. “You’re fighting the wrong battle, brother. You’re limited.”
“So what does that make you?” Rex retorts bluntly.
“A believer,” he retorts and then bites down on something. Electricity crackles through his head and Anakin jerks forward instinctively but it’s over in literally a second. His head is smoking and he’s slumped forward, motionless.
Rex darts forwards to check for pulse, but Anakin already feels his presence fading away. It’s too late. He;s gone, along with their only lead. Anakin has seen people take their own lives before, but never a clone. Someone… changed him. He’s a clone, but has no traits of the normal ones. He’s… mindless almost. It’s troubling.
All of this is.
“Slip said Kamino was destroyed by Admiral Rampart,” Anakin says finally, turning to Rex.
“I’ve heard the same from… other sources,” Rex replies, “I knew some survivors.”
Crosshair. Crosshair was there. Anakin makes the mental note to ask him about it, not that it will necessarily matter, if what Rex is saying about the chips is true. “He saved a backup in Rampart’s star destroyer.”
“The strange part is Kamino’s facilities were evacuated before,” Rex adds, “Though we’ve never been able to figure out where those clones were taken.”
“We need to disclose this evidence to the Senate,” Riyo interjects quietly.
Anakin couldn’t agree more, but that worries him, too. This… could be involved higher than he realizes. He doesn’t think Sidious is involved, but he could be wrong. It is hard to imagine an Admiral could do something as significant as destroying Kamino. He must have been, or at least someone high up must have been, and after – after Ahsoka, he can’t help thinking his master may have been more involved than he realized.
Rage flickers up, a raw and living storm, a need to crush and destroy. Sidious hurt Ahsoka, his padawan, his sister – he betrayed him, and Anakin will not let that go. He ripped the galaxy apart. He lied to him. He used him.
Padme will get involved as soon as she hears about this. Anakin needs to find a way to ensure that doesn’t happen. He can’t let her and their children be at risk.
“We’ll need a way on Rampart’s star destroyer,” Rex responds.
“You’ve been working against the Empire for months.” It’s not accusing, exactly, but it still stings. He thought Rex was dead, and Rex probably thought the same about him, but Rex has still been fighting against everything Anakin is building, against him as he tries to reshape the galaxy into something good – not that the Empire is progressing faster than the Republic. It feels more reverse.
“I’m not surprised to see you down here, sir,” Rex confesses, “Ahsoka and I looked for you, but we couldn’t find you, and she thought it was safer for us both to hide.”
That was probably when he was on Mustafar. He’d been there a few days before Sidious contacted him, requesting he return to Coruscant.
Rex’s mind is troubled, weighed down with something heavy. There’s a veiled sorrow in his eyes.
“What is it?” Anakin asks. He loathes how awkward this feels, and the same is true for Rex – Anakin can feel it, and he knows him. Loyalty is everything to the clones, and being divided – it happened on Umbara – is hard. He knows divided loyalty.
“When Ahsoka fought Maul,” he answers, “He told her some things about Sidious. That he wanted you as his apprentice.” Rex sighs. “We… all should’ve known.”
Rex is the first of his family Anakin has seen again. Padme was hurt and furious at him for leaving the Jedi, though that could just as well have been her lashing out from what she viewed as the destruction of the Republic. He thought Obi-Wan would be first. Maybe Ahsoka. He always waited for, expected them to call him out, to condemn him and walk out as Sidious always promised, but that isn’t what he’s doing.
“I made the choices I had to, for the galaxy,” Anakin answers, “And for my family.”
“Sidious is destroying the galaxy,” Rex points out. The way he’s talking isn’t accusing. It’s simply a fact.
He sighs. “I know. That is not what I expected when I joined him.” But now he is his and there’s nothing he can do about it. He’s thought about ending it before – but he talked himself down from even trying just as fast because this is his master and it still felt like disloyalty. But Sidious has betrayed him entirely now.
Rex nods. “That’s what I… expected.”
“I’ll help you with this,” Anakin says finally, “I need to know how far up this goes.” He has to know if Sidious is involved. He can’t help wondering, because it makes sense Sidious would want all evidence of the clones’ mind-control chips wiped out now.
How much has he done to them? To the galaxy? Somehow, it’s always something… more. Something worse. Anakin really had no idea exactly what he was getting into.
Either way, he’ll need Rex’s help to figure this out, and vice versa. Afterward, they can figure out what they are.