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After the rise of the Empire Rex’s life changed. During the Clone Wars Rex had struggled to imagine life after the war; fighting was what the clones were created for. That’s the only thing they were trained for. They thought they were created to defend the Republic and its citizens. But their true purpose wasn’t to win the war for the Republic- it was to help to destroy it.
They were created to turn on the people they had fought alongside for years. To execute all the Jedi.
After the siege of Mandalor, the war was about end. Rex thought it meant end for losing people he cared about. But in the matter of minutes Rex lost everything; his brothers, his friends, his job, his free will and the love of his life. Without Ahsoka’s help, he would have lost his life too. She removed his inhibitor chip and saved him. But they couldn’t help anyone else. The ship was about to crash into a desolate moon, so all Ahsoka and Rex could do was to escape. By that time, the Purge had already happened; the Jedi were all gone, Palpatine (or Darth Sidious) had appointed himself as the Emperor and the Republic didn’t exist anymore.
Just like the Jedi cruiser; Rex’s world also came crushing down.
He had to find his own way from then on. He wasn’t about to become part of the Empire. Instead, he did the only thing he knew, which was to continue to fight for the Republic. He tried to save as many of his brothers as he could and later, he became part of the Rebel Alliance founded by Senator Organa. He was one of the few senators still fought for democracy.
During the Clone Wars Rex never wanted to think too much about the life after the war. There were no guarantees that he would live to see the next day. They just went from battle to battle and mission to mission. There wasn’t much time to think about anything else. But sometimes he let his mind wonder. He tried to picture what his life might look like. But this was not the scenario he had ever imagined.
There wasn’t much Rex needed to be happy. More than anything, he just wanted to be with Obi-Wan. In whatever capacity it was possible. Even if it meant that he was just serving The Republic alongside the Jedi.
Meeting Obi-Wan was the best thing that ever happened to him. It didn’t take long before Rex realised that he had fallen head over heals in love with him. Although Obi-Wan was the most beautiful man Rex had ever seen, that wasn’t what caught his attention. It was the unwavering kindness that he showed to everyone, his quick wit, his sense of justice and his intelligence.
Falling in love wasn’t something he had thought would happen to him. Even less he had expected that Obi-Wan would reciprocate his feelings.
Even though they were in the middle of fighting a galactic war, it was some of the happiest time in Rex’s life. Obi-Wan was someone that made him feel safe and loved. He saw Rex as an individual, someone special, when there were millions of clones. When they fell asleep in each other’s arms, he could forget everything for a while. They had a lot of responsibilities, but since 212th and 501st legions worked so closely together, they managed to spend some stolen moments together.
Rex couldn’t believe it had been over fifteen years since he last saw Obi-Wan. He had spent more than half of his life grieving him. And he knew that he would mourn him for the rest of his life.
They didn’t even get to say proper goodbye. The last time they saw each other, Coruscant was under attack and Obi-Wan rushed off to save the Chancelor. They only had a few seconds in the hangar surrounded by everyone.
Obi-Wan gave a quick squeeze on Rex’s shoulder. His hand lingered for a moment before he let go.
“May the Force be with you.”
Rex gave Obi-Wan a soft smile. Alarms were going off and troopers were rushing around them. But when he looked at Obi-Wan, he felt calm. He resisted the temptation to take Obi-Wan into his arms.
“And may the Force be with you, Obi-Wan.” Rex hesitated for a moment before he added, “Just don’t do anything stupid. I want you back safe and sound.”
Obi-Wan laughed. “I never do.”
That wasn’t reassuring. At all. Rex shook his head. He locked eyes with Obi-Wan. “K’oyacyi, cyare.” (Come back safely, love. lit. Stay alive)
Obi-Wan gave him a more serious look and said, “Ner cyare, gar kar’taylir.” (My love, you are held in my heart.)
It didn’t escape Rex’s notice that Obi-Wan made no promises of his safe return. He wasn’t one to break his word and he was on his way to a dangerous mission. There was so much more Rex would have liked to say, but there was no time. So, with a final nod and smile they both rushed to their own ships.
On Mandalor they talked for the last time. But they were on holocall with Ahsoka and Bo Katan. They had to be a jedi master and a captain of the Grand Army of the Republic. Rex thought that they would have another chance to talk later. The war was about end. The siege had been successful and Obi-Wan was about to engage General Grievous. If Rex had known that that would be the last time he would see Obi-Wan, to hear his voice, he didn’t know if he would have had the strength to leave the meeting.
He had never expected to find a family outside of his brothers. But Obi-Wan became his new family. Sometimes he dreamed of retirement with him. Maybe they could have settled on some peaceful planet. Maybe adopt some children and live a normal life.
But now, Obi-Wan was long gone. Marched on along with his fellow jedi and Rex’s clone brothers.
There weren’t many left to remember him. So, when Kanan called a meeting because Ezra was had some sort of vision about Obi-Wan and Maul, Rex didn’t know what to think.
Ezra was convinced that Obi-Wan was still alive, and that Maul had found him.
Hera turned to Kanan and asked, “So, what do think it means, Kanan?”
“Ah, I couldn’t really guess,” Kanan said looking contemplative. “Holocrons at times take on a life of their own… But as to what it means…”
“It means Master Kenobi could be alive and in danger right now!” Ezra interrupted. Rex recognised the look on Ezra’s face. It was the same determent look General Skywalker had often when he had already decided to execute one of his hare-brained plans. (To be fair, his plans were often the reason they won a battle.)
After Obi-Wan’s death he carefully avoided talking about him. He mourned all his fallen brothers, General Skywalker and now Ahsoka. They were his friends and family. During the war, Rex had lost countless brothers. It was never easy, but all he could do was to move on. He missed all of them. But losing Obi-Wan was like losing part of himself. It wasn’t the kind of pain you never really get over; you just learn to live with it.
His grief was also mixed with guilt. They had been so close finding out the truth about the inhibitor chips. If only he would have believed Fives, Palpatine’s plot might have been discovered. And they might have been able to save the Republic.
But he had learned that was pointless to think about what ifs anymore.
The only way he could move on was to accept what had happened. That’s what Obi-Wan would have wanted. To concentrate on those who still were alive and in need of his help. But it wasn’t always so easy. Some days it felt impossible. If he had believed that there was even a small chance that Obi-Wan was alive, he never would have stopped searching. Rex was trying to let go.
It broke his heart to be the one to reason with Ezra. In his heart he wanted to believe him. But his mind told him not to feed the false hope.
His voice broke a little when he said, “Ezra, no one would like to believe General Kenobi’s alive more than I would,” Rex closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He continued with steadier voice. “But Senator Organa confirmed his death.”
He still could remember as it was yesterday the conversation that truly broke him.
They were standing in the garden of Nubian Royal Palace. Senator Organa was looking into the distance with pensive expression.
“Have you heard from any of the Jedi? General Skywalker?” Rex’s heart was hammering in his chest. He tried not to sound too hopeful when he asked, “General Kenobi?”
Senator Organa gave him a long inquisitive look, but it softened into something more empathetic before he answered.
“No, I’m sorry but unfortunately they both were killed during the Purge.”
Something in him shattered after hearing those words.
His ears were ringing. Everything seemed very distant for a moment. Like he was outside of his body. But then the words registered in brain. And everything crushing down.
It felt like he was feeling everything and nothing at the same time.
Deep down he had already known the answer. But he hadn’t quite realised how much he still had held out hope for their survival until that hope was gone. He had thought that, surely, if Ahsoka had survived they could have too. They were one of the most skilled fighters of the Order after all.
But now, that hope was lost.
And Rex had to accept that his worst fears came out to be true. During the Clone Wars he had accepted that any battle might be their last. But Rex never really thought that Obi-Wan wouldn’t be the one who survived. He had never believed that he would outlive either of the generals. It seemed impossible.
But it was the truth.
The idea that Obi-Wan had been killed by his own men was like a nightmare he couldn’t wake up from. Obi-Wan was killed by his friends. By Rex’s brothers. By men that he had trusted. Rex felt sick.
He didn’t even want to think about what would have happened if he would have been with Obi-Wan when order 66 was issued. If he would have been the one to turn on the person, he loved more than anything else.
It took every bit of self-control Rex had not to break down right then and there. He looked away from Senator Organa’s empathetic eyes and fought against the tears in his eyes. He closed his shaking hands into fists, took in a deep breath and relaxed.
As a soldier he knew that the only thing he could do now was to move forward. He would fight for the Republic until his last breath. He would honour Obi-Wan’s memory by fighting for those who couldn’t. He would live on in Rex’s memory and through his actions.
He would mourn Obi-Wan for the rest of his life.
Ezra’s words pulled him back to reality.
“Maybe he was wrong! We know Maul went looking for Master Kenobi. This could be a sign that he’s closing in on him.”
He didn’t wish anything more than that Senator Organa was wrong. But after all these years he had lost hope for it to happen. He couldn’t find the energy to continue the conversation. He didn’t want to be the one to argue with the kid. Especially, because he didn’t want to be right. So, he just concentrated on breathing and listening.
“Or it could just be a broken recording.” Kanan said trying to reason with Ezra.
“That doesn’t explain why I heard Maul’s voice!”
“But you’ve heard it before. You’ve heard it before, and it was just a trick. Maul was manipulating you.”
“I want to go to Tatooine to check things out. I opened the holocron again this morning and it’s again the same message it used to be. I don’t believe that the holocron is just broken! It must have been a sign that we need to save Master Kenobi!”
Hera sensed that a heated argument was about to start and tried to intervene. “Ezra, can I have word with…”
But Rex had been so deep in his thoughts that he hadn’t paid much attention on what Ezra was really saying.
He hadn’t known there was a message from Obi-Wan.
“Wait… What recording are you talking about?”
Kanan turned to Rex and sighed. This was still a very painful subject for him, and he avoided talking about it. “After the order 66, all the Jedi received a coded retreat message saying that the war was over and requested all jedi to return to the Temple. I guess, it was a trick to lure the remaining Jedi into a trap. But then the message was changed. We were warned not to return to the Temple, and we were told to hide instead.”
There was a flicker of hope Rex never dreamed of feeling again. He knew that it would be unwise to allow himself to feel it. But if there was even a slight chance of Obi-Wan being alive, Rex would search throughout the galaxy until he found him.
“Could I see the recording?”
Ezra pulled out a square object from his pocket and set it on the holotable. The holocron opened and a very familiar figure appeared before them.
Rex’s heart skipped a beat. His vision started blurring with tears and he had fight against them. Rex had waited for almost two decades to see his lover again and he didn’t want to miss even a second of it.
Obi-Wan looked the same than the last time he had seen him during a holocall on Mandalor. He was wearing his cloak over his jedi robes. His hands were tucked inside sleeves and his expression was composed. But behind the serene jedi mask, Rex could see the heart break in his eyes.
“This Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. I regret to report that both our Jedi Order and the Republic have fallen with the dark shadow of the Empire arising to take their place. This message is a warning and a reminder for any surviving Jedi: trust in the Force. Do not return to the Temple. That time has passed, and our future is uncertain. We will each be challenged; our trust, our faith, our friendships but we must persevere. And in time a new hope will emerge. May the Force be with you. Always.”
The message ended and the blue image of Obi-Wan disappeared. Rex gently brushed his left gauntlet plate with his finger. He closed his eyes to stop the tears escaping. It had been almost two decades since he had heard Obi-Wan’s voice.
Everyone stayed silent for a while. Only thing he could hear was Sabine tapping her datapad. Kanan and Hera looked pensive.
Rex’s brain was starting to catch up what was being said. This was not the time to be consumed by his thoughts. He needed to concentrate.
He had to find out what had happened.
“Kanan, you said that the message was changed. Is it possible to change it from a commlink?”
Kanan shook his head. “No, the message could have been changed only from the main holocall centre in the Temple. The only way to change the message would have been by recalibrating the recall beacon.”
“And when did you receive the new message?”
“Hard to tell the exact time. So much happened in a short period of time. But I guess it was few hours after the clones turned against us.”
So, Obi-Wan had survived the order 66, and he had managed to escape from Utapau. That was the only explanation. It didn’t mean though that he had managed to get out from the Temple. It could have been the reason why Senator Organa was so sure that Obi-Wan had been killed during the Purge. He was in Coruscant at the time. And now that Rex started to think about it, Senator Organa had never specified that Obi-Wan had died in Utapau. Rex had just assumed that.
Obi-Wan would have given everything to warn the other survivors. He would have been ready to sacrifice himself if it meant that he could save someone else.
Finally, Sabine looked up from her datapad. She looked pointedly at Rex and asked, “Rex, were you and Obi-Wan married?”
“WHAT?” Kanan and Ezra shouted in unison.
Hera looked sceptical and asked Sabine tentatively, “What makes you say that?”
Rex was too stunned to speak. He could hear his heart beating and blood rushing. All their eyes on him.
The question threw Rex off. That was not something he had expected to talk about now. Or ever in fact.
They had known what might have happened if they got caught. So, unlike General Skywalker and Senator Amidala, they had been very discreet. He always suspected that Cody might have known about their relationship, but out of respect didn’t say anything about it.
If any other clone had known, they never said anything. In public they kept their distance. Aside from a few lingering casual touches they behaved as any other jedi and clone would when others were around. They didn’t expect anyone else to be well informed enough about Mandalorian culture to have noticed that there had been any indications of them being married. In theory at least. The New Mandalorian government had banned practicing the traditional Mandalorian culture and it was slowly dying out. The Jedi and the Mandalorians had been enemies for centuries, and their knowledge about Mandalorian culture was poor at best. Obi-Wan and his master had been the only jedi that had spent an extended period of time on Mandalore. But since Sabine was a Mandalorian who wore an armour, he should have expected for her to notice what others didn’t.
Seeing his surprise Sabine took over explaining.
“I always wondered why Rex’s left gauntlet plate was missing it’s blue paint and the shape was different from the right one. I thought at first that it could have been damaged during a battle or it could have been lost, and never replaced. But I just went through the holonet for more information about General Kenobi, and I came across these two pictures.” She projected two pictures for everyone to see.
The first picture was one taken after the battle of Christophsis. Obi-Wan and General Skywalker were engaged in conversation with local senators. In the background Rex, Cody and some other clones were standing in guard.
The second one was taken during the last year of the war. In the picture Obi-Wan and General Skywalker were photographed leaving Corucant with 212th and 501st legions for the Outer Rim Sieges. Rex and Cody were walking right behind the generals.
“As you can see- “
“I can’t actually,” Kanan interrupted teasingly smiling at Sabine.
“As the rest of you can see,” Sabine continued and shot an annoyed glance at Kanan, “that in the earlier picture Rex has blue markings in both of his gauntlet plates, and General Kenobi has white ones. In the later picture however-” Sabine zoomed in the picture so that their hands could be seen more clearly, “-Rex’s left plate is white and General Kenobi’s left gauntlet plate is identical to Rex’s right one”.
“What difference does it make?” Ezra asked. He didn’t seem overly impressed by the evidence that Sabine had provided to support her claim.
“In the Mandalorian culture when a couple says riduurok – our marriage vows- the newly wed spouses exchange pieces of their armour.”
“But neither of them is from Mandalor,” Kanan said and turned to Rex. “That cannot be true, can it?”
Rex had recovered from his surprise and finally spoke up.
“To answer your question, Sabine, the answer is yes and no.” Rex sighed.
Everyone seemed too stunned to speak, and Rex continued.
“I wasn’t a citizen of any world in the galaxy. I was a property of the Republic, and therefore I didn’t have any of the rights citizens had, including a right to marry someone. And it was against the Jedi Code to marry anyone. So no, technically we never got married. But we did say riduurok, like you said. It doesn’t require any witnesses. But, as Kanan pointed out, neither of us were from Mandalor, so legally we were never married. I was trained by the Mandalorians, and Obi-Wan spent some time in his youth on a mission on Mandalor, so he knew about the customs and spoke Mandoa. We thought that that would be as close as the real thing we would ever get. As long as us clones weren’t given a citizenship, we could have never been in a relationship out in the open. Even after the war. Or even if Obi-Wan would have left the Order.”
Ezra gave him a curious look. “What do you mean?”
“Like I said, I was the property of the Republic. We weren’t allowed to have personal relationships. In the best-case scenario, I would have been relocated somewhere else. In the worst-case scenario however, we could have both been court marshalled and I could have been decommissioned.” Rex answered grimly.
“What do you mean decommissioned?” Ezra looked even more puzzled.
“Us clones were trained to follow orders without question. The Kamionoans viewed us products and they treated us accordingly. That’s why we had birth numbers instead of names. Our purpose was to be efficient soldiers and nothing more. The Jedi treated us as individuals. They encouraged us to use our names, personalize our armour and to have our own personalities. But if I would have been sent back to Kamino, it wouldn’t have ended so well for me. The level of independence I was presenting would not have been tolerated by the Kaminoans. In their minds I would have been a defective product and most likely I would have been terminated.”
Everyone seemed horrified by his answer. “I never realised how bad it was for you clones.” Kanan said with a small voice.
Hera laid her hand on Rex’s shoulder in a sign of silent support.
“You were a child back then. Most of the Jedi treated us with respect. Not as numbers and cannon fodder. It wasn’t something you used to seeing.”
Kanan looked at him for a moment. “I would have never believed that Master Kenobi would do something so blatantly against the Jedi Code. He was always held as role model for us padawans. Many of the masters called him the perfect jedi”.
Rex let out a laugh.
“If you would have known him, you would know that he was a master of breaking the rules discreetly. Next to General Skywalker he would seem like a rule abiding Jedi, but unlike him Obi-Wan wasn’t so obvious about it. His own master was considered a somewhat of a maverick of the Jedi Order, and Obi-Wan learned from him to stretch the truth to seem like he wasn’t breaking any rules. He wasn’t called the Negotiator for nothing.” Rex smiled fondly. “As he would put it; from a certain point view we didn’t break the rules.”
“The Jedi Code forbade attachment all together, though.” Kanan pointed out.
“It did. But how would you define attachment? The Code didn’t forbid loving someone. We never let our relationship get in a way our duties. Both of us had to make hard decisions that went against what we wanted to do. Obi-Wan was self-sacrificial to the extreme, and I can’t even remember all the times he let himself be captured or used himself as a bait. So, when he ordered us to retreat and stayed behind to give us more time, we did it. Even though it was the last thing I wanted to do. We loved each other but we were able to let go of our own desires if we had to. Like you and Hera.”
Rex thought that if he was having this conversation with Ahsoka or General Skywalker, they would tease him relentlessly. They would say he had spent too much time with Obi-Wan. So much so that he even started to sound like him. He missed them all.
“But it still doesn’t any sense that he would still be alive. If he was alive, do you think he would be hiding on some backwater world instead of helping us,” Hera chimed in.
There was a dangerous glint in Rex’s eyes.
“When you speak of Obi-Wan, you speak of him with respect,” Rex snarled. “He was one of the bravest jedi in the Order, and he always led his men with him at the front. He would never hide anywhere. If he is indeed on Tatooine, he is there for a reason.”
Hera was taken aback and quickly mumbled her apologies.
“Could it be possible then that Maul’s after Master Kenobi?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised. Maul was rather obsessed with Obi-Wan. When he was still a Sith apprentice, Obi-Wan defeated Maul. Maul was cut in half, and he fell into a reactor shaft. Everyone thought he had died, but somehow, he managed to survive. Getting revenge on Obi-Wan was all that mattered to him. If he thinks Obi-Wan is alive, there is nothing he wouldn’t do to find him.” At least on that Rex could relate to Maul. “Including using you, Ezra.”
“But we can’t just wait around. We must do something!” Ezra said in his frustration. Hera turned to him.
“We have to prepare for Lothal. Nobody knows that place better than you, Ezra. We need you here.”
“Hera is right. Ezra, stay put. Don’t do anything reckless. I have some calls to make. If your suspicions are right, we can go to Tatooine, but we need to be sensible about this. Otherwise, we might walk right into a trap.” Rex laid his hand on Ezra’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. Concentrate on your plans for Lothal for now. I’ll be back soon.”
Rex turned to leave. His head was buzzing. Even though he tried to remind himself not to get his hopes up, he was feeling lighter than he had felt in years.
He needed to talk to Senator Organa.
It was an early autumn morning in Alderaan. They had escorted Senator Organa back to his home world. They had stayed on one of his homes on the outskirts of Alderaa.
He snuck out with Obi-Wan before anyone else was awake.
Sun was just rising, and the air was still cold after the night. The ground was covered in frost and the frozen grass was crunching underneath their feet as they walked towards the lake. They were heading towards the edge of the forest that would give them some cover. When they far enough from the house Rex took Obi-Wan’s hand into his. He gently brushed the back of Obi-Wan’s hand with his thumb. Obi-Wan in return squeezed his hand and laced their fingers together. They continued walking in silence until they reached a clearing next the lake.
Rex turned to look at Obi-Wan. The first rays of sunrise were emerging behind the snowy mountaintops. Red light framed Obi-Wan and he looked like he was glowing. Sunlight made his auburn hair look even redder than it was. His grey-blue eyes sparkled. He gave Rex such a soft look that Rex felt he could just melt looking at him. It was the most beautiful this Rex had ever seen in his life.
He cupped Obi-Wan’s cheek with his hand.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
Obi-Wan answered with a warm smile that made corners of his eyes crinkle.
“I’m more certain of this than I’ve been anything else in my life, dear.” He leaned in and gave him a soft kiss. “I love you very much. You are a good, brave, and honourable man. I am very lucky that I get to love you. I know, I can’t offer you much, but if you want, I give you my last name. This might not be legally binding, but it is real for me. More than anything, I want to be with you. In every way possible.”
Obi-Wan took Rex’s hand from his cheek into his. He gave a soft kiss on it and then also took Rex’s other hand. Rex cleared his throat.
“Mhi solus tome (We are one when together).”
“Mhi solus dar’tome (We are one when parted).” Obi-Wan said in return.
They took off their left gauntlet plates. Rex gave a soft kiss in the back of Obi-Wan’s hand before he attached his gauntlet plate onto Obi-Wan’s hand.
“Mhi me’dinui an. (We share all).”
Obi-Wan did the same thing. Rex looked down on his hands and their exchanged armour. His eyes started to fill with tears.
“Mhi ba’juri verde. (We will raise warriors).” Obi-Wan finished the vows.
Rex leaned in and Obi-Wan’s lips met his in the halfway. The kiss started soft but gradually deepened until it felt like outside world didn’t exist. For a moment it was just them. Minutes blurred together. When they finally broke apart both were panting.
They pressed their foreheads together and just enjoyed the quiet moment. Rex thought he had never been happier.
Obi-Wan gave him one last kiss on the forehead before Rex opened his eyes.
“Do you think others are starting to wake up?” Rex didn’t want to go yet but they had been gone for a while.
“Most likely,” Obi-Wan sighed. He clearly wasn’t ready to go back just yet. “Shall we?” Obi-Wan’s face broke into a beaming smile when he added, “Rex Kenobi.”
Rex thought he might just well burst with happiness.