《A Glitch In The Matrix》47: The Captain and the Jedi

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Rex stared at the piece of paper in his hands. Somehow, it wasn't damaged even throughout everything it had been through. He ran his fingers across all the people drawn on it. There was the original picture of domino squad. Fives, Hevy, Echo, Evie, and the two he never met, Droidbait, and Cutup. Then there was 99 added in the corner above them. In the opposite corner was the drawing of him. And above the main six, the words "Our Family" were on it. Rex sighed, and he was about to fold it up when a familiar voice sounded behind him.

"Woah", Ezra said. Rex turned and looked at the blue haired Jedi. He smiled and offered the paper over so he could see it better. Ezra took it.

"Who are all these people?" he asked, running his hand across the paper before handing it back to Rex. The old clone took it, and smiled as he started talking about the clones. Sabine and Zeb approached, and listened quietly as Rex spoke.

"The six here were part of a squad called Domino Squad. I only met four of them, two of them having died before I arrived", Rex said. "That would be these two here. Droidbait and Cutup."

Ezra snickered. "Droidbait?" Rex chuckled.

"I'm told his nickname came because he was always attracting droids, no matter where they went. He apparently was the first to get shot down during training almost every single time. Anyway, these two here are Fives and Echo", Rex continued. "They were two of the three that made it back from their very first mission. Some of the best friends I'd ever had. Hevy-" he pointed out the clone. "-died blowing up an outpost so the Jedi would know that it was under attack. Hevy was the one who drew the main six. These other pictures were drawn on by the original owner of this photo." Rex skipped over Evie, not quite ready to say her name aloud just yet. He hadn't said it in fourteen years.

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"Who was the original owner?" Sabine asked. Rex winced, but spoke sharply.

"I'll answer that in a minute." Rex pointed to the older looking clone. "This was 99. He died on Kamino in a selfless move to get us more ammo to find off the droid invaders. There was actually a clone force named after him. Echo joined them, but I doubt any of them are still around today."

"Who's the clone in the other corner?" Zeb asked gruffly. Rex chuckled.

"That's me", he said. "That's what I looked like fourteen years ago."

Ezra snorted. "That couldn't have been fourteen years ago! You're way older than that guy!"

"We clones were given accelerated aging. I'm actually 32 right now, but I look way older", Rex said. "I'll also have a shorter life span. I'm expendable."

"Not to E- Ahsoka, you're not", Ezra said. Rex's eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything about the kid switching names. "She's really looking forward to seeing you."

Rex shrugged, before he looked back at the picture. He rest a finger on the last clone, the only female one in the entire army. Sabine noticed his lingering finger, and spoke.

"Who's she?" the mandalorian asked. Rex smiled sadly.

"Her name is Evie. She-" Rex's voice broke and he closed his eyes. "She's a clone of a Jedi. She saved my life more times than I can count. I only wish I could've done the same for her fourteen years ago."

"What do you mean?" Zeb asked. Rex felt a tear roll down his cheek, and he wiped away, hoping that none of the others saw it.

"We were on a republic cruiser that was about to crash just after Order 66 was announced. She and Ahsoka saved my life by removing the chip in my head. We had to fight our way out. We made it to a couple ships and escaped the cruiser, but Evie's ship was hit by a piece of debris and she crashed. We couldn't find her ship, and had to assume that she was buried underneath the rubble of the cruiser."

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Rex heard Ezra take a deep breath to say something, but it was muffled by a hand. Rex looked up to see Sabine covering Ezra's mouth and giving him a sharp look. The clone captain narrowed his eyes again.

"I know you guys have been keeping something from me", he said. "I've been letting it slide for now, but now I want to know what it is."

Sabine, Ezra, and Zeb all shared a look, but they were interrupted by Hera walking up to them. "We're attached to the rebel fleet. It's time to go see Ahsoka."

Rex nodded, and followed the others to the docking tube, where they got onto a large transport craft. The halls were very bright, and Rex had to blink a couple times. They turned around a corner, and Rex spotted the back of a familiar togruta. She turned and searched through the group, but the clone captain knew she couldn't see him.

He moved through the group, and placed his hands behind his back as he stood at attention in front of his old commander and friend. "Commander."

Ahsoka smiled and approached him. Rex smiled in return, meeting her blue eyes. "You got old", he said.

"Had to happen sometime, Rex", the togruta chuckled. Without warning, she threw her arms around his neck. Rex blinked in surprise, before he wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm glad you're still alive", he said quietly, so only she could hear.

"You too", Ahsoka said as she pulled away from him. "But there's someone else who's more excited to know that you're alive."

Rex's brows furrowed together in confusion. Ahsoka looked down the hallway, and Rex followed her gaze. HIs breath caught in his throat as a familiar brown haired female came around the corner, still looking as beautiful as ever. Her hair was starting to gray, but it added to her beauty. Rex caught her magnificent hazelnut eyes, and saw that they were reserved, and slightly nervous. The old clone started forward, walking until he was standing just in front of her. He brought his hand up to her cheek, but didn't quite touch it, afraid he was only imagining her. The older woman gently brought her hand up, and placed it on his own, pressing it against her cheek as she closed her eyes.

Rex let out a breathless chuckle as she leaned into his hand, and he realized that she was very much real. "Evie", he whispered. The female's eyes fluttered open as she pulled away from his hand.

"Hi, Rex", Evie said in response. "Long time, no see."

Rex chuckled aloud, and pulled her into a tight squeeze. "You're alive", he whispered. "I can't believe you're alive."

"I'm very much alive, Rex", Evie croaked. "But I won't be if you keep hugging me this tightly."

Rex loosened his grip but didn't pull away. The female clone finally returned the hug, and they embraced for a long time, neither one wanting to let go. Evie finally pulled away, but not very far. She met Rex's gaze, and smiled softly before leaning up and pressing her lips against his. Rex automatically responded, and their lips danced together in short battle before they pulled away from each other.

Rex pressed his forehead against hers, and let out a happy sigh. "I can't believe you're alive, and here, and in my arms."

Evie laughed. "I'm here, Rex. And I'm here to stay."

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