#rexognize me

[soclonely]

Don’t Rexognize Me- Part 3: The Domino Duo

"These two here are Arc Troopers Fives and Echo." Rex says as two men stand up from the table they were sitting at to greet their Captain."This here is Raptor. He will be joining us for awhile until General Kenobi returns." Fives and Echo give him a smalll nod of acknowledgement before sitting down.

Old Rex stands there frozen, another lump foming in his throat. Fives... Echo.. The last time he had seen the two together was just before the Citadel. After that, it was only Fives. And then Echo. They look so carefree together here on the ship, unaware of their fates. They have to be saved. They must know. "I-" He begins, but is cut off by a panicked "Captain! We have a small situation in supplies!"

Both Rexes spin around at the mention of there name, looking at each other puzzled. "Oh uhm, excuse me!" Old Rex replied. "Was just caught off guard there" He steps aside as the Captain heads over to the door. "Have a seat and help yourself to some of the caf." The tired looking Captain says over his shoulder. "I will follow up after handling this."

The old captain stares at the two freshly made arc troopers chatting and pours himself a warm cup of caf. Look at the two of them, Rex thinks, making his way over to the table to sit. "Mind if I join you boys?" he asks. "I uh- don't want to intrude or anything." He adds, taking in the confused expression on Echo's face. "Seems I've been left unaccompanied by your Captain for a moment." He sits down across from them, smiling. "Seems a bit uptight, that Captain of yours." He chuckles and takes a sip of his caf, looking down at the chrono on his wrist: 16 hours left

"Probably another one of Crates mess-ups." Fives says, stretching in his seat. "He's one of the troopers down in supplies, always messing things up." He looks over at Echo and laughs. "Remember the time he accidentally unboxed and activated all those poppers? The Captain nearly chewed the poor guys head off."  

"Hmm, How could I forget." Echo replies grimly. "We all thought we were toast." He shakes his head and lets out a huge sigh. "You'd think by now people would be more careful. The poor Captains already worn enough out as it is." Echo gives Fives a small glare. "Its not funny Fives."

Old Rex laughs. "So, he really is as tired as he looks eh? I never could tell myself." He takes another drink from his cup. "So this Captain of  yours, things are out of hand under him?" He hesitates but continues, curious."It must be frustrating to deal with." . He couldn't blame them. Being in the 501st was no walk in the park. Skywalker was a great General, but unrefined. Things always seemed harder back then. He held his breath, waiting for the complaints to come pouring in, the critisizm he deserves.

"Not at all!" Fives exclaims, looking slightly offended. "The Captain is great! I mean.. sure things don't run as smoothly as they could. Things happen. But its all healthy chaos." He nudges Echo's side. "Some of us don't mind a bit of that every now and then."

Echo pushes him away. "Well I am sure that Captain-as well as myself- do mind." he readjusts his armor."Fives you really should tell the others to take a chill pill sometimes. They will listen to you." he says. "Captain Rex needs all the help he can get. That last campaign was a tough one. He deserves the respect and break from all of his hard work!"

"Well of course he does!" Five rolls his eyes. "Everyone knows that he is the hardest working trooper in the GAR, Force." Fives turns to Rex and continues. "Our Captain is the best of the best, and we are proud to serve with him and the rest of the 501st. Besides," he looks down at his armor and over at Echo. "I think blue really suits him."

"You really can't go just one minute without making a joke can you?"

"Im trying to lighten up the situation, Echo! Its not my fault you-"

"Woah now boys, calm down." Rex interrupts. "Why all the fighting?" He looks at the two troopers sitting across from him and smiles. "You know, you two remind me of some brothers I knew. Man they were quite the pair." he looks into his cup of coffee. If you two only knew..

"Well?" Five urges, "What were these brothers like? Was one overly pushy about the rules and bossy to the other?" Echo rolls his eyes and says. "Please tell me the other brother wasn't as obnoxious as him."

Rex laughs. "Well, not quite." he says, leaning back in his seat. "One was charismatic, loud. He could walk into a quiet room and immediately cheer the place up. He was also very kind, brave, and would do whatever it took to save a brother." His heart stopped as he remembered that day. Fives in his arms, struggling to speak those final words. The events leading up to that: Tup, Kamino.. The chips.

The Chips...

Rex begins to feel lightheaded. Oh great... They said there would be some physical side effects. He takes a moment to gather himself.

"Uh, Raptor is it?" Echo looks at him concerned. "Are you okay?"

Rex chuckles. "Who me? Yeah kid sorry.. Just uh, got stuck down memory lane there a minute." He takes a deep breath. "Anyway, the second brother was more reserved. He was smart, an observer. He always knew what was going on around them, even when no one else seemed to quite understand." Force, his head hurt. "Apart, they seemed to be different and completely incomparable. but get those two together and they could work some magic on the battlefield." He runs his fingers through his beard. "Two of the finest troopers you could serve along side."

"What happened to them?" Echo asked, but he seemed to already know.

Rex looks at them seriously. "They," he sighs. "They were seperated. One brother was taken away, leaving the other behind. He was never really quite the same. Still an excellent soldier, reliable. But, there wasn't as much life in him. Always something missing. That happens when you lose apart of yourself I suppose." He takes another drink of his caf. "But then he died, and the other one came back an-"

"wait I thought you said that one was already OW!" Fives is cut short by Echo nudging him in the side. "Sorry!" He mumbles, glaring at Echo.

Rex gives the two a soft smile. "Its okay. Really." He laughs. "Its nice, seeing this again." He looks from one to the other. "Cherish all of the time you have together. Because you never know. The one brother didn't know the other survived. If he did, I'm sure he would have be-" Rex stops. His vision beginning to blur. Oh great, he thinks, I don't need this right now. Please. "Cherish the time you have together because you never know when it could be the last time you two see... each.. the cita.." Rex collapses on onto the floor of the Mess Hall as the two Arc Troopers run to his side.

"Quick! Get a medic!" Fives yells to a nearby trooper. "Its okay bud, we'll get you down to the medbay..."

The room around Rex fades to black, the voices of his past fading along with it.

[soclonely]

Don’t Rexognize Me- Part Eight: Brothers

Final chapter of this little series! Thank you so much for all of the feedback and I am glad you all enjoyed it!

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Rex wakes up in a panic, kicking the blankets off his bed. Where am I, he thinks. What happened? The General was gone. And Rex, his own men. His brothers. They... fired at him.

"Ah your're awake to take the next watch?" Gregor pops his head into Rex's room. "Good! Because I'm ready to catch some shut eye myself." he chuckles, tossing the blaster he was holding onto Rex's lap. "Are you okay there?" He adds, noticing Rex's distress.

"Yeah I uh-" Rex rubbed his temples, trying to remember what he was doing. "I guess I had a bad dream or something." He stands up and makes his way over to the refresher. "You go on and get some sleep. I'll be out in a minute." He splashes his face with water. What happened?, he thought to himself again. It all felt so real.

Hearing the voices of Tup and Dogma, young and eager as always.

Seeing Hardcase smile one last time, his laugh cheerful as ever

Feeling Jesse's hand on his shoulder and the concerned glares of Kix in the medbay he had learned to accept when being taken care of..

Fives and Echo, together again. As it always should of been.

And..Cody..

Rex shook his head and gave himself another splash of cold water. "It was just a dream." He tells himself, dabbing the excess water from his face with a towel. "It was just a dream." He repeats. "You were dreaming, and thinking about the past again. And there is nothing you can do to change it."

He makes his way to the upper deck of the walker and sighs, staring at dark, frozen tundra in front of him. It had felt so real. The panic, the feelings. If only it were that easy.

Rex's thought were interrupted by the smell of caff and the heavy footsteps behind him as he climbed down the ladder into the main room of their makeshift home.. "Care to have some company?" Gregor asks, handing him a mug. "Turns out I can't sleep either right now." he laughs. "Must be the excitement of trying for Big Bongo later on today." He sits.

Rex gives him a small smile and takes a sip of his caff. "Gregor." He coughs. "Wh-what did you put in this stuff?" he sets the cup down and chuckles. "On second though, I don't wanna know." He sits down in one of the chairs, eyes scanning around the room until the rested on the dusty helmets in the corner, jaig eyes staring back at him.

Gregor follows his gaze for a moment before coming over and placing a hand on Rex's shoulder. "Ya know, it doesn't do us any good to live in the past. It hurts sometimes, and we should never forget it... But we can't change anything. We can only accept it and move on." he takes a gulp of his own drink before continuing. "I know we have had some bad luck with not catching Bongo, but we can't dwell on Wolffe’s mistakes and how he made us lose the monster." He laughs as a third man joins them in the room.

"Whats all the racket?" Wolffe mumbles, yawning. "Is it my turn to take the watch or are we having a party?" he takes a cup from the cabinet and pours his own glass.

Rex looks down at his chrono. 15 minutes remaining.

"Huh thats weird." Rex scratches his beard. "seems my timer must have been started when I was sleeping. But I just started my watch now." he adds. "You can go get some more sleep Wolffe. We'll keep it down."

"Too late now." Wolffe grumbles, sitting down across from the other two. "May as well all take it together."

Gregor laughs. "Hey its been a minute since we've all took the late night watch together. Anyone up for a game of Sabacc?" he sets his glass down and hurries to grab the cards out of the cabinet. "Loser takes bait spot for the hunt today?"

The three men sit in silence as the cards are laid out.  Rex takes another sip of his caff and clears his throat. "Thank you two for uh, keeping me company tonight."

The sounds of cards shuffle. "Of course, mate."

"That's what brothers are fo-. Gregor if you even think about cheating again I will feed you to the damn creature myself."

Rex chuckles. “Yeah, brothers.”

[soclonely]

Don’t Rexognize Me- Part Five: Guilt

Rex followed the two unknown troopers through the corridors of the ship, thinking to himself and taking in the views of his surroundings. Its all so familiar. And sure, it was war time and things were hard on him back then.But the sounds of the boots marching along the halls, troopers clattering in the Mess Hall for some food, A droid buzzing by on some unknown mission. To Rex this was comfort.

This was his home.

Rex's thoughts were interrupted by a door opening nearby and a trooper backing out, holding a mop and bucket.

"Clean it up Hardcase." The trooper mumbled, pushing the mop and bucket out of the way. "Its your mess Hardcase. You are the one who put pasta sauce in Jesse's helmet. Not my fault he threw it across the barracks." Hardcase looks up at the two shinies escorting Rex and grins. "Well what do we have here?" He leans against the mop.

"We are taking this gentleman to the Captain." One of the troopers said. "Er, where exactly is the Captain?" he turns to his companion. "Was it the bridge? O-Or the hangar we were supposed to meet at?" The other trooper shrugs. "How am I supposed to know. The orders came to you, not me!"

Oh great, Rex thought, looking down at the chrono. 6 hours remaining. He doesn't have time for this.

"Well I will tell ya what." Hardcase smiles, pushing the bucket toward the shinies, interrupting their small arguement. "I know exactly where Captain is." He pushes the bucket toward the shinies. "How about I take this guy up to him and you two take this bucket to the Barracks. You know Jesse right? Grumpy looking, covered in Traditional tomato, You can't miss him." He chuckles and hands the other shiny the mop. "Take these to him. And tell him that Hardcase is on an important job for the Captain. Come on." He waves his hand toward Rex and starts walking down the hall before the other two troopers could process what just happened.

"Come on speed it up will ya?" Hardcase whispers. "Wanna get out of here before they-" he stops as they round a corner. "Wait where is the kriffing Captain anyway?" He turns to look at Rex. "Sorry for that back there. The names Hardcase." He sticks out his hand. "Don't think I've seen you around here before."

Rex chuckles. "No need to apologize. I know how.." I know how you are, he finishes in his head, the lump in his throat returning at the realization. Its Hardcase, alive and in the flesh, in front of him right now. He takes the mans hand and shakes it, smiling. "The names Raptor. And its an honor to meet you Hardcase."

Hardcase looks slightly uncomfortable at the extended handshake, the man in front of him staring just a little too long. "Uh look, " He says. "I'm not sure where you need to be but uh, the Captain. He might be up in th-"

"The Bridge." Rex says, immediately letting go of the troopers hand. "Yeah thats what they said in the medbay." He extends his hands in front of them. "Lead the way."

Hardcase and Rex have pleasant small talk as they make their way through the levels of the ship. "So you like being in the 501st too eh?" Rex asks, after a painfully exaggerated story from Hardcase about the time Rex himself was shot in the chest. "Seems like a lot of people do." He laughs, something warm swelling in his chest. "A wild bunch like the 501st. Must be hard to keep together sometimes."

"I wouldn't know about that." Hardcase shrugs, pressing the button on the lift door they were waiting in front of. "I'm just a soldier. Nothing to special. Just shoot droids and watch the back of my brothers." He moves aside to let a group of troopers getting off the lift pass before hopping in. "Now the Captain, he is the real hero of the 501st."  He states matter-of-fact. "That man goes through hell and back to make sure we do our job right AND safe." He hits the button for the level they need. "Captain Rex always does right by us troopers. Always listens to us."

Oh great. There's the lump again.

"He sounds great." Rexz manages to choke out, thinking back to Umbara, and Krell. Hardcase, not making it back. He failed Hardcase, and the rest of his men. He has to tell him its his fault. He has to tell Hardcase he is the reason the man dies, to apologize. "Hardcase I-"

The door to the lift opens and Hardcase walks out cheerfully. "Well, here we are." He points in the direction of the bridge. "You just want to go straight that way, and through the big doors. That'll be where ol' Captain Rex and the other stiffs are right now." he chuckles. "I'd take you there myself but I am going to make my way over to the Mess for some ice cream. If you don't mind of course." He quickly adds, looking at Rex. "I know these big ships can be pretty intimidating to move around. But its not every day I get a few spare minutes to treat myself."

Rex laughs. "I don't mind at all. Go on, enjoy yourself." He nods toward the Mess Hall. "Have a bowl for me, would ya?"

Hardcase grins and gives the the old man a mocking salute. "Yes sir." He gives a final wave and makes his way toward the clattering trays, leaving Rex alone with his thoughts, the ghost of Krells laughter echoing in his mind.

[soclonely]

Don’t Rexognize Me- Part 4: The Medbay

"He's starting to come around..Hey.. are you alright?"

"Kix leave the guy alone.. Let him wake up on his own."

"Look Coric tasked me with keeping an eye on this guy and I'm not going to let him dow-"

"And you can watch him just fine from over here. Come finish this hand of sabacc so I can rob you and go take a nap."

"Jesse you are completely useless.. you know that?.."

Jesse?... Kix?..

"Ugh." Rex slowly comes to, struggling to open his eyes against the bright lights above him."Whe-Where am I?" he grunts. "Wh-wheres the other two." He tries to push himself up but a hand immediately grabs his shoulder.

"Not so fast there!" Kix says, steadying Rex. "You passed out in the Mess Hall. You need to take it easy." He gentle pushes Rex back, turning to the other trooper. "Hey Jesse, make yourself useful and grab some water for this guy will ya?"

Rex lays back, watching the two men interact as he collects his thoughts. He was in the mess hall with Fives and Echo, talking. Then everything went black. He glances at the chrono on his wrist. 10 hours remaining.

The chips....

"Here you go." Rex's thoughts are interrupted by a glass of water being shoved into his hand by Jesse. "Better drink that or Doctor  Overkill here will force it." Jesse turns to Kix, tapping away at stats on his datapad. "The medics here are good at taking care of others BUT themselves. Kix will you please-" Jesse pleads as he is pushed out of the way by the frantic medic. "You have had 4 cups of caf and are driving me- as well as yourself nuts"

Kix glares at Jesse as he checks Rex over. "Don't mind him." He says, checking the old mans pulse. "He's just mad because I was about to win our game." He points down at the water in Rex's hand. "But he's right though. Drink that."

Jesse rolls his eyes. "See what I mean? Overkill"

Rex takes a big gulp of his glass of water. "Hey if I were you, I would appreciate having such an enthusiastic medic around." Rex lets his gaze wander from Jesse to Kix. "Some people aren't so lucky. Losing a good medic is a heavy blow to the Company." Rex sits up and groans, his head giving a dull throb."One of ours just, up and disappeared one day." His eyes saddened as he stares at Kix. Where were you, he thought. We really could have used you. What happened? He takes another sip of his water and continues aloud. "Gotta give them props, their jobs a hard one." He gives Kix an approving smile.

Kix smirks over at Jesse. "See? At least some people appreciate me around here besides the Captain!" He picks up his datapad from the side table and heads over to the nearby desk. "Fives said your name was Raptor?" He looks down. "I don't have any information on you in the files but thats no surprise." He looks over at Jesse. "Hardcase kriffed up the ships network again."

"Of course he did!" Jesse snorts. "Its Hardcase. Whose bright idea was it to let him near any of that stuff anyway?" Jesse takes a seat near Rex's bed. "Did you hear about that mess he caused in supplies earlier? The Captain nearly lost his mind. I don't understand why he puts up with him. Wouldn't it be easier to just transfer him? Its so hard keeping the guy busy." He shakes his head. "Sometimes I wish I had the patience he does. The long necks must have given him some extra juice to deal with half the troopers antics."

Old Rex takes another drink of his water and smiles. "Ya think its that easy for him eh?" His eyes turn to focus on Jesse. "The patience and firm but understanding hand to run this battalion? Its not an easy thing to balance. And I can promise you, there are times when your poor captain is close to slipping."

"Yeah I am not jealous of the Captain whatsoever. He can keep all the responsibility and have my full respect." Jesse sits back in his chair and frowns. "At this point, I'd be happy to make ARC Trooper."

"Oh you'll get there one day." Rex chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck. "Believe me." His mind begins to wander as Jesse and Kix continue their game of sabacc. Young Kix, eager and just right there in front of him. And Jesse, the last time he saw Jesse was that day. The day everything changed. The crash.

The chips...

Rex put a hand up to his head, tracing the smooth scar that marked the place his was removed, saved by Commander Tano. Later trapped. And Jesse.. If he only would have listened to me, he thought. If Jesse only would have just let us take her prisoner that day.. She was no jedi after all. All of those men, the crash... It could have been prevented.

Its Jesse's fault.

But..It wasn't. The chips were controlling him and the others.

If Jesse wasn't there to command in the future, maybe he and Commander Tano could take control of the ship.. Save countless lives. The lives of his brothers.

Rex looks over at Jesse and Kix, laughing over the outcome of the game. But Jesse is a brother. And it would be wrong.

All of those helmets on graves..The crash. You buried all of them... You were alone.. Jesse didn't listen. He betrayed you. If you just kill one man now you can save-

"NO." Rex says loudly, getting the attention of the other two. "I mean, ya know I wouldn't mind a little more water." Rex says, immediately noticing his empty glass and the dryness of his throat. "Sorry to bother you." he quickly adds.

Jesse smiles and brings over a pitcher of water, pouring some into the mans cup. "Not a problem." He says, and turns to kix. "There. See? I'll help if you promise to stop drinking caf for the rest of the day." he frowns at his best friend. "You need your rest as much as this old guy here." He wanders back over to sit. "Hey we will try to keep it down so you can rest a bit. The Captain said when you are feeling welcome enough, feel free to join him up in the bridge."

Rex gives a small nods and forces a smile. "Uh Thank you. I appreciate it." Rex lays his head back and closes his eyes. You will be sorry for that later, the voice in his head says. But Rex ignores it. He is here to do one thing and one thing only and if his mission is successful then that day will never happen anyways. He rubs his temples and rests..

The chips...

Good soldiers follow orders...

The Crash...

[soclonely]

Don’t Rexognize Me- Part Seven: The Order

Word Count: 66

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"Target is locked in sir." the trooper tells Commander Cody, eyeing the ship stolen by the strange man. "Would you like me to take the shot?"

Cody stood in silence, listening to the old man on the other end, pleading for General Kenobi, his general. Something about needing to warn him. The order, the chips..

The chips..

Commander Cody went still before giving the order.

"Fire."

[soclonely]

Don’t Rexognize Me- Part Six: A Shiny Opportunity

Word Count: 686 Warnings: None.  ---------------------------------- 3 hours left....

Rex shifted impatiently as he sat in the hangar with his younger self. The two of them sat in awkward silence as other troopers past by. A transport having just come in with new shinies made the older man break the silence."They seem to look younger and younger every time a new batch comes in, eh?"

The captain nods. "Either that, or we are just getting older." he half chuckles. "Who's to say nowada- What is it now?" He mumbles as a young trooper makes his way over to them.

"Sir, the commander has sent me to discuss something with you in private."

Captain Rex sighs. "Excuse me." He walks over to the side of the hangar to talk to the trooper, leaving the older him to reflect and continue watching the incoming transports unload.

"This is it, Tup.." A voice says from the other side of the crates Rex was leaning against. "This isn't Kamino. We are in a real life war situation now an-"

"Yes, I understand Dogma!" The young trooper said, removing his helmet to reveal the start of a bun. "Can you believe it? We’re actually here! With the 501st!"

"Yes, its all very real now, Tup. But don't go and make a fool of yourself. This isn't a field trip like the one we took as cadets. This is-"

"Real life, you’ve said this." Tup sighs. "Can't be happy for just one minute. We got the coolest legion in the GAR Dogma. Enjoy it."

There was silence for a moment before the other man responded."Do you think we will get to see him soon?"

"Who?" Tup turned, looking confused.

"Who? THE Captain Rex. That’s who." Dogma says, shaking his head. "You've heard the stories! He must be a very hard trooper to please. I just hope I can live up to the standards I-"

"Careful Dogma," Tup teases as they grab their gear and head toward the exist of the hangar. "This is real life now. Wouldn't want to be too distracted."

Rex chuckles as he watches the two walk away. Dogma was always the uptight one. Him and Tup... Tup..

The Chips...

Rex became lightheaded again and he stabilized himself on the stack of crates. He checks the chrono...

1 hour, 30 minutes left.

He begins to panic when the Captain walks back up to him. "Raptor." he says. "I have some good news. The generals won't be back for at least a few more hours. However we were able to get word to the Jedi Council on Coruscant. We have a transport waiting to take you there. You will be in good hands and they will be able to make a decision on what to do."

Rex begins to panic. "No, no. You don't understand!" He raises his voice. "It has to go to the General. Directly to Kenobi!" He pushes aside the crate he was clinging to "If I go to the council, he will find out. He will stop me. Then this will be all for nothing!"

The Captain’s hand automatically reach toward the blaster at his side, reacting to the movements of ‘Raptor’. "Woah there." he says, trying to ease the older man. "Who will stop you? Who will find what out?"

"The Emperor will!" Rex throws his hands up in the air. " He will find out. He always did. He will try and stop me from telling them. You won't understand. None of you!" He throws his hands up in the air. "I need General Kenobi."

Rex eases his hands off his holsters. "Just take it easy. Let me.. Just let me go over here and see if I can get a comm link direct to General Kenobi." He eyes the old man nervously. "Maybe we can get you two on the comm."

Old Rex rubs his temples. His mind racing. "Yeah... sure fine.. You do that." He isn't going to do that, Rex thinks to himself, I need to get out of here.

Rex turns to see the other man distracted with his comm to the bridge. He takes the opportunity and runs to the nearest ship.