Rex Unleashed: Showdown in the hangar
As one, two hundred blasters pulled from holsters with a sound like a deadly tibanna snake.
"Oh... so you want to play, do you, little slaves of the Republic?" Krell drew the words out slowly, savoring them. His two hinged double-bladed lightsabers ignited simultaneously, casting the hangar in sickly green light. "I'll show you what real power looks like."
Around the hangar, helmet cams were broadcasting live feeds that were already spreading beyond the fleet and out to clone forces deployed everywhere. Batch mates spread the feed to their vode deployed elsewhere, and they shared with their squads.
Across the galaxy, Skywalker had been diverted on another "urgent mission" for the Chancellor. When Ahsoka sent him an urgent message—simply "Watch!"—he found himself staring at a patchwork of HUDs from the men of the 501st. His men rarely ever shared their cam feeds with him, except in battle, and never so many at once. It was overwhelming at first, seeing so many views and it took his brain a moment. The audio was synced up, though, and it helped fill in the blanks and as it did, his gut clenched in anger. ‘Oh... so you want to play, do you, little slaves of the Republic? …. I’ll show you what real power looks like.’ His gut clenched in anger- bringing back all manner of complex emotions from his childhood. But, there was more to these emotions, too, because he’d heard the clones called slaves before. He’d heard them whisper the term among themselves, in conversations they thought he could not hear. He always tried to give the clones their privacy, grit his teeth and move on, but this particular truth had always grated at him. And, hearing it now speed aloud so plainly, it hurt on a fundamental level.
It was as if this was the moment that ripped the stuck bandage off a festering wound that had been left much too long.
Rex knew none of what was going on with the screens across the fleet. He had only broadcast out to the 501st command channel clones only, and had no idea both Jesse and Echo had opted to send it to Ahsoka. He also was unaware that as the decision had escalated, Fives had looped ARC Trooper Alpha into the feed.
It was as if every trooper there was instinctively aware something monumental was about to happen and in the event they didn’t make it, the truth needed to be told.
