#forehead touch

When the war broke out following the Battle of Geonosis, Rex was deployed as an ARC trooper in the 212th Battalion, which was under the command of General Kenobi. The General, whose full name was Obi-Wan Kenobi, was High Jedi General of the Grand Army of the Republic, and was in command of the Open Circle Fleet, the Third System Army, and the 7th Sky Corps.

In his duties, General Kenobi was assisted by Marshal Commander Cody and Commander Skywalker. The former was Rex’s older brother and the latter General Kenobi’s Padawan.

All of this was quite a lot to remember, but Rex handled it well. After all, even though he only had the rank of ARC Trooper, he was more than capable of being a Commander, having trained with the Command Batch for a good part of his short life.

Even though he had been prepared for it his whole life, the reality of a soldier’s life at war only hit Rex during his first battles. He hadn’t been deployed during the assault on Geonosis, but the battles came thick and fast after that, and less than four months into the war, Rex had seen more battlefields than he could count.

It was tough, both physically and mentally, but Rex was strong and he wasn’t alone. He was surrounded by vode from morning till night, Cody was never far away either, and Kenobi and Skywalker were good Jedi, always ready to put themselves between danger and their troops.

To sum it up, it was all exhausting and tedious, but at least there was a certain routine, and Rex had found his place in this infernal machine.

But all that was about to change.

Everything was about to change because a few days ago, it had been announced to all members of the 212th Battalion that Anakin Skywalker would be made a Jedi Knight. Consequently, he would be leaving the rank of Commander and moving to the rank of General and would soon be given his own battalion soon.

Like some others, Rex was both saddened and proud at the same time by this news. Saddened because Anakin had become almost like a friend during the months they had spent together; and proud to see this young Jedi spreading his wings.

Rex then told himself that, all things considered, it wouldn’t change much for him.

But that was until Cody singled him out and took him to his quarters to talk to him privately.

“Am I in trouble?” Rex asked as Cody closed the door behind him.

“What makes you think that?” Cody retorted rather than answer.

“It’s not often you take private conversations like this. The last time was when the Commander blew up a Separatist tank, and you thought I helped him.”

“As if, Rex.” Cody rolled his eyes. “We both know perfectly well that you did help him.”

“You have no proof.” Rex insisted, narrowing his eyes slightly, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips. “But this time I don’t think Commander Skywalker’s ... actions are at stake. Well, General Skywalker, now.”

“His actions are not, but General Skywalker is indeed linked to what I want to talk to you about.”

Rex didn’t respond to that, simply waiting for Cody to spill the beans.

“You are no doubt aware that with his promotion, General Skywalker will be leaving the 212th Battalion and given command of his own battalion. More precisely, General Skywalker is expected to assume command of the 501st Battalion within a few days.”

Rex nodded and made a mental note of the number. If he ever heard of that Battalion on the battlefield, he might try to get news of Anakin Skywalker. But still, none of this explained why Cody had asked to speak to him privately.

Fortunately, Cody quickly resumed speaking. “General Kenobi was initially against General Skywalker’s promotion but failed to convince the Jedi Council to change their mind, and Skywalker was knighted. General Kenobi did, however, manage to obtain that some troopers from the 212th be transferred to the 501st so that General Skywalker would at least have some familiar faces with him.

Rex barely stifled a snort at his brother’s bad joke. They all looked the same, they were clones. Even if General Skywalker was deployed with complete strangers, if there was one thing he would know about them, it was their faces.

But all in all, it was good news. Rex simply needed to get hold of the list of transferred troopers and ask them to keep an eye on their new General for him. Because while Rex believed Kenobi wouldn’t let his Padawan vanish into thin air, and that the 212th and 501st would sometimes be stationed together, regular reports on the young Jedi’s condition would reassure him. After all, having been part of Commander Skywalker’s personal squad, Rex knew the young man well and had grown quite fond of him.

But that still didn’t explain Rex’s presence in the room. Was Cody telling him all this because Rex was going to have to reorganize the squads based on the departures to the 501st? Probably.

“Has the list of troopers transferred to the 501st Battalion already been drawn up?” He asked.

“It has.” Cody replied with a slight smile.

“Excellent. If you can get it to me as soon as possible, I will reorganize the forces of the 212th so that we do not suffer from these changes.”

Cody didn’t respond right away, staring at Rex as if he were an enigma, before sighing and grabbing his datapad and tapping on it. “There you go, I just send you the list.”

And indeed, Rex’s comm rang at that moment and the blond opened the file he had just received, just to take a quick look before looking at it more seriously.

However, one name on that list made him stop dead in his tracks.

Cody smiled, suspecting that Rex had arrived at a very particular place. “Skywalker isn’t the only one getting a promotion.” He said calmly.

“I… I- Huh?”

“What eloquence, Captain Rex.” Cody smirked, emphasizing his brother’s new rank.

Rex stuttered for a moment before raising his head and staring at Cody with wide, staring eyes. “Me, Captain?” He asked, astonished.

“You, Captain.” Cody confirmed. “Only Captain, sadly. The guys and I tried to push for your promotion a bit more, but those Kaminoan shabuir refused.”

“Wait, what?”

“Wolffe, Fox, Ponds, and Bly, along with me, requested that you be appointed Commander, as would be the logical choice, but the Kaminoans refused. You were nevertheless promoted to Captain to lead the 501st Battalion alongside General Skywalker.”

“Be realistic, Cody. Even with all the recommendations in the world, the Kaminoans will never accept that a defective clone reach the rank of Commander.” Rex scoffed.

“You’re not defective.” Cody snapped, frowning.

“And yet, here we are. But anyway, that’s not the point of the discussion.”

“It's not." Cody allowed. "As I was saying, in less than a week, you will officially be Captain of the 501st Battalion, Second-in-Command to General Skywalker, congratulations, vod.”

“But I don’t know how to be a Captain!” Rex, who was starting to panic slightly now that the idea had sunk in, exclaimed. “I’m just a simple ARC Trooper!”

“First of all, we both know that ARC Troopers are anything but normal troopers.” Cody began, much calmer than his brother. “And secondly, you know perfectly well that your level is closer to that of a Commander than an ARC Trooper.”

“In theory maybe, but I’ve never led an entire battalion like you or the guys did. I don’t know how to.”

“And I didn’t know how to lead an entire battalion outside of simulations when I was put in charge of the 212th. Even so, do you feel I did a bad job?”

“What? No, absolutely not!” Rex asserted, as if insinuating that Cody had done his job badly was the most serious insult imaginable.

“In that case, I know you can do it too.” Cody concluded, stepping closer to Rex and placing a hand on his shoulder. “You received the same training as us, and you’ve been by my side since the beginning of this war. You have what it takes to lead a battalion. Have some faith in yourself, Rex; I know you can do it.”

“I... I don’t know if I'll be able to do it alone, Cody...” Rex sighed, looking down.

Cody did not respond immediately but moved even closer, pressing his forehead against Rex’s, who leaned on his older brother.

“Who said you were alone? Nobody’s asking you to do this alone.” Cody reassured him in a low voice. “Just because you’re a Captain doesn’t mean you’re in charge all by yourself. You’ll get to know your officers, learn their strengths and weaknesses, which you can then use to your advantage. General Skywalker will be there too, and even though he can be a bit impulsive at times, I know he won’t leave you to handle everything on your own. And don’t think I’m going to abandon you that easily either.”

Rex broke the kov’nyn without really stepping back to send an interrogating look to the older man.

Cody sent a reassuring smile to his brother before continuing. “Just as General Kenobi has no intention of letting General Skywalker vanish into thin air, I have no intention of abandoning you either. When General Skywalker’s promotion was finalized, one thing General Kenobi managed to secure was the close and frequent collaboration of the 212th and 501st so he could keep a close eye on his Padawan. That means I’ll never be far from you either. And even if I’m not physically by your side, know that my comms are always open and you can always reach me, no matter the situation. I can’t promise to always reply instantly because you know our lifestyle, but I promise to always respond and help you with all of this.”

Cody could see that Rex believed it a little more, but he still had reservations. “And if you ever have any troopers giving you trouble, send them to me, I’ll show them the full force of a Marshal Commander’s wrath.” He added with a predatory grin.

This remark at least had the merit of making Rex bark a laugh, and he seemed a little less tense.

“And then I can pass the list on to Fox so his Corries can find an excuse to arrest those who disagree with you. Likewise, I’m sure Wolffe would be delighted to unleash some of his wolves on those troublesome troopers. And Bly and Ponds will-”

“Okay Cody, no need to give me the whole list. I understand.”

“And what exactly did you understand, my dear little brother?”

“That I’m not alone and that you’re all ready to beat the crap out of anyone who opposes me. But I’m not a tubie anymore and I can handle this myself. I don’t need my big brothers to come and terrorize my troopers for me.”

“As you wish.” Cody accepted, raising his hands in surrender. “But know that you are not alone, vod’ika, never.”

“Understood, ori’vod. Thank you.”

Cody sent a sincere smile to his brother and rested his forehead against his one last time before stepping back.

“Alright, I’ll let you go. All the transfers from the 212th to the 501st will leave the Negotiator within 2 days, including General Skywalker and yourself.”

“Understood. I’ll go find the General right away to discuss this new assignment.”

Cody nodded and let his brother leave the office.

Cody then made sure the door was properly closed and that Rex could no longer hear him before taking out his comm and pressing a few buttons, launching a prepared group call.

And since this call was planned, everyone responded quickly.

“So, how did the announcement go?” Bly asked, sounding as excited as a puppy.

“Pretty good. First he glitched and then he panicked, but not as much as we expected.” Cody reported.

“You did tell him he wasn’t alone and that we were always there to help him if needed, right?” Ponds wanted to check.

Cody raised an eyebrow. “Who do you think I am?”

“Knowing him, he must have repeated it at least 50 times." Wolffe scoffed. “But to be fair, that’s how many times Rex needs to hear this kind of thing before he’ll get it.”

“He also told me he would know how to handle any troopers who might oppose him.” Cody added.

Fox scoffed. “Yeah, I’ll keep a few cells free anyway.”

“When my guys have finished dealing with them, you won’t have anything left to lock up.” Wolffe promised with a wolfish smile.

“Hey, I also want to have fun with those who are mean to Rex!” Ponds protested.

Fox, Wolffe, Ponds, Cody and Bly then spent a few minutes exchanging ways to torture and make those who would not respect Rex’s authority pay before refocusing.

“Well, that’s not all, but I have work to do.” Bly sighed.

“Yeah, I guess I’ll have to go too. We just got our new assignment and it’s on the other side of the galaxy.” Ponds lamented. “Being assigned to a member of the Jedi Council, I thought I’d be spending more time on Coruscant, but not even that.”

“Believe me, you don’t want to spend any more time on Coruscant.” Fox advised. “But I have work to do too as well.”

“Cody, you’ll probably be the one spending the most time with Rex, since your battalions will be working together a lot, from what I understand. We’re counting on you to keep an eye on him and give us the names of those who are questioning him too much.” Wolffe asked.

“You can count on me.”

“Before we leave, Cody, I have one last question.” Fox interjected, just as they were all more or less ready to hang up and return to their respective duties.

Cody nodded. “I’m listening.” 

“The 501st Jedi. Can we trust him?” Fox asked, very seriously.

Cody did not respond immediately, taking time to think. “General Skywalker is young and newly promoted, and he can be impulsive, but he cares deeply for his troopers. He’ll do everything he can and more to protect Rex. I don’t claim to know everything, but from what I understand, the Force is really strong with him, stronger than with many Jedi, and General Skywalker is very strong. Rex was already part of his inner circle, and he’s got to know him well since the beginning of the war. I don’t know everything about General Skywalker, but I know that Rex will be as safe as possible with him.”

“He’s not the type to sacrifice his troopers to get out of trouble, is he?” Bly wanted to check.

“On the contrary. He’s already jumped in front of bombs to use the Force to smother the explosion and to protect some Shinies. Several times. He’s sometimes clumsy, but he cares about his troopers.”

“In that case, I imagine we can entrust him with our vod’ika without too much trouble.” Ponds concluded.

“Hm. I’ll reserve judgment until I meet him in person.” Fox muttered.

“Anyway, there’s not much more we can do.” Wolffe sighed. “Cody, we’re really counting on you to keep an eye on Rex.”

“I promise.” Cody assured him once again, more serious than ever.