Curate, connect, and discover
Ever since he was a cadet fresh out of the tube, CT-7567 has been different.
Yeah, the blond hair is a pretty obvious indicator, but there’s something else. Something below the surface.
CT-7567 was always slightly faster, slightly stronger, slightly smarter than his batchmates. He has the best scores in training. Sometimes he knows which one of them was about to sneak up behind him, even if they weren’t making a sound. All of these inexplicable things added up to an anomaly that the Kaminoans just barely missed, despite them keeping a very close eye on him because of his “cosmetic defect.”
And there was the Voice.
The Voice isn’t his inner dialogue or anything—CT-7567 knows that. He can’t explain how or why, but he just knows. The Voice helps him, will tell him to take a left instead of a right to avoid being caught if he was out past curfew, will tell him when to dodge in order to avoid being shot during a training sim.
During one sim, something went wrong and CT-7570 is killed. The Voice seems to scream in pain and it’s almost as if ’67 feels CT-7570 die.
Such an explanation seems ridiculous, but he can’t think of a better one, and it just fits.
CT-7567 knows that his… quirks are strange and unique (are dangerous, are defects) when he asks one of his closest batchmates about it.
“When ’70 was killed, did you… feel anything? Like, pain or something?” He asks CT-7583, who taken to calling himself Keeli.
Keeli looks at him strangely, as if he had suddenly grown a second head (CT-7567 has heard rumors of such defects, though if they ever existed, the Kaminoans would decommission them at the first sign of abnormality). “No,” his batch mate responds. “Did you?”
“N-no. I just… I felt bad after, I guess.”
Keeli wraps his arm around ’67’s shoulders, pulling him close. “Me too.”
Then Keeli pokes ’67’s side, and they devolve into giggles and roughhousing, the day’s events forgotten.
%#%#%
Sometimes, the Voice is less of a Voice and more of a Feeling, like the day the War begins.
By this point, CT-7567 has received a nickname—Rex. He was also bumped up to the command track. He felt slightly out of place, but CC-2224, who likes to be called Cody, took him under his wing.
Over the past two days, there have been whispers of a Jedi on Kamino. Rex knew they were true: he felt the Jedi as soon as they entered the atmosphere. They glowed, brighter than all of his brothers.
Though no one is exactly sure why the Jedi came, they all knew what it meant—the War was here.
The day they are deployed, Rex wakes up feeling tense, as if he’s in a training sim. There’s this sense of foreboding, and Rex wants to prepare, but he doesn’t know what to get ready for, let alone how to do so.
He’s walking back to his barracks after midday meal, his head pounding, when the announcement comes in.
They’re being deployed to Geonosis. This is not a drill.
Rex turns around and runs to the hangars.
%#%#%
On Geonosis, Rex dies countless times.
He’s never felt so much death, so much despair, and it takes everything he has to keep his blaster up and remain on his feet. He keeps fighting, even as brothers and Jedi alike are shot down right in front of him.
He knows his purpose, knows he was bred to fight and even die for the Republic, but he’s not sure he can take it.
%#%#%
Somehow, Rex had been made a captain—he even earned himself some jaig eyes (no matter how undeserving he felt of them) and was assigned to the recently-knighted Anakin Skywalker. They’re headed to their first deployment when General Skywalker pulls him into his quarters.
“I have a question for you, Rex,” General Skywalker begins. Rex isn’t sure what’s about to happen. Did he already do something wrong? Is he going to get decommissioned?
The General continues. “Have you… ever noticed anything different about yourself? Like you know someone’s about to come through the door even if you can’t hear their footsteps, or you can dodge faster than those around?”
Oddly specific questions, but he’s not about to lie to a superior. “Y-yes, sir?”
General Skywalker exhales and smiles. “Cool. I was like 90% sure that I was right, but I had to check.”
“Right about… what, sir?”
“Ok, what do you know about the Force?”
Rex stares.
“Nothing. That’s alright. The Force is like… an energy field. It flows through the entire universe, from the biggest galaxies to the smallest womp rats. Some, like the Jedi, are Force-sensitive, which means they can sense and use it. So basically, um… congratulations, you’re Force-sensitive!”
What.
What.
On Kamino, they learned about the Jedi, how they wield swords made of light and can move objects with their minds. The Jedi sounded mythical, god-like.
And here Rex is, learning that he’s got those same powers.
Oh kriff.
This is it. He’s done for.
“If you’d like, I’d be happy to teach you some stuff. Basic shielding, Force usage, and maybe even some saber training. How does that sound?”
Rex looks at General Skywalker. The man is grinning from ear to ear, not a hint of disgust or deceit on his face.
Trust him, the Voice says. Trust him.
…So he’s not getting decommissioned?
Rex considers the General’s offer. “Do… are you going to tell anyone?”
“No. If you wanna tell people, that’s on you, but I figured, well, if you didn’t know you were Force-sensitive, then it’s not normal for you guys. I don’t want you… getting in trouble or anything. And no need to call me ‘sir.’ Just ‘Anakin’ is fine, at least when it’s just us.”
Rex isn’t quite ready to do that, yet.
After all, he still needs to process that he can potentially move things with his mind.
%#%#%
The war goes on.
Brothers come and are just as quickly caught in death’s chilling grasp. The deaths don’t hurt as much, though, since General Skywalker Anakin taught him how to shield his mind. He’s also learned some basic Force applications. He’s not great at it yet, but he pretty much has the basics down.
He excels at lightsaber training, and enjoys it more than the other things he’s learning. Upon expressing this to Anakin, the Jedi smirks and admits to being much the same.
Despite his protests, Anakin is assigned an actual Padawan, a sassy togruta by the name of Ahsoka Tano. She’s fresh and far too young in Rex’s opinion (like he can talk), but she’s a fast and eager learner. She grows on him and the 501st far faster than he’d like to admit, and for all his initial reluctance, it’s clear that Anakin adores her.
While the Jedi is obviously largely responsible for teaching his Padawan, Rex imparts some of his expertise. Rex learns from her, as well; upon discovering his Force-sensitivity, Ahsoka eagerly contributes to his knowledge and training.
He forges bonds (figurative and literal bonds. Yet another thing you can do when you’re Force-sensitive, apparently) with both Anakin and Ahsoka, which strengthen with every battle fought. It reaches the point where their efficiency and effectiveness are almost unparalleled.
They win battle after battle with minimal casualties. On one memorable occasion, Rex has the opportunity to use his new lightsaber skills, to the shock and awe of his troops.
The tide is turning in the Republic’s favor, and an end to the war is in sight.
Rex isn’t sure what’ll happen to him and his brothers after the war, but he finds himself filled with hope.
And then Ahsoka leaves.
%#%#%
Rex fights battle after battle. He’s lost track of the planets they’ve been on, the brothers he’s lost.
Anakin is more irritable, more prone to giving in to his anger.
Coruscant is attacked.
Count Dooku is killed.
The war is nearly over.
And then—
“Execute Order 66.”
Good soldiers follow orders.
“Yes, Lord Sidious,” CT-7567 replies.
The Jedi are traitors, and they must be dealt with as such, and—
A piercing pain erupts to life on the right side of his head. He staggers, gripping his head. The Force screams and the pain grows and grows and grows—
It explodes in a flash of blinding white light.
%#%#%
CT-7567 Rex wakes up in… a medbay, though he is unsure where he is, exactly. The pain in his head has decreased to a dull throbbing.
His General returns with a new name, confined to a suit because of his former Master’s betrayal. The Jedi attempted to assassinate the Chancellor, Anakin Darth Vader tells him.
The Republic no longer exists and has instead been rebuilt into an empire. The Empire.
Some things stay the same, though. Rex remains at his General’s side, both on and off the battlefield. Vader continues to teach him about the Force, but his methods are far different.
The Force feels twisted and dark, but Rex ignores the unease stirred within him.
After all, he’s right where he should be.
%#%#%
One day, Rex tells Vader of the strange experience he had prior to waking up in the medbay.
“My Master attempted to enslave you,” Darth Vader growls. “Not to worry. One day, I shall possess the strength and skill to strike him down and take his place as Emperor, as is the way of the Sith.”
On the third anniversary of the Empire’s birth, Darth Vader does just that.
Unfettered by his Master’s demands, Vader cracks down on slavery, his justice swift and sure.
He rules with an iron fist, stomping out any signs of dissent, tolerating nothing less than complete loyalty and absolute perfection.
Rex remains by his side, as he always was.
%#%#%
Darth Vader becomes complacent.
Complacency is what gets one killed.
Darth Vader’s problem is that he never suspected his loyal captain, his eager apprentice.
Darth Adenn uses the Force to shove Darth Vader’s body off the throne, stepping on it as he ascends to his rightful place.
Even as the Force plunges ever deeper into the Dark, Emperor Adenn’s eyes glow like the rising sun.
[Adenn= Mando'a for "merciless"]