Instead, she sighed and looked down, bracing herself for the worst part of post-mission debrief. "Who did we lose?"
                          
Despite the pain it brought her, she was proud to say the words. Four years ago, she would have asked 'How many did we lose?', if she had asked at all. She would have thought of the clones just like every other greedy politician and investor did: like resources, valuable but expendable resources that were at her disposal, just like at Scarlet Haven. It made her sick to her stomach to accept that her orders, her plan had cost her friends their lives, but it was better than acting as if they didn't matter. If only their deaths weren't on her accou-
                          
"None."
                          
She froze, her breath caught in her throat. Slowly, Ahsoka turned to look at Rex, who couldn't stop himself from grinning from ear to ear. 
                          
"What?"
                          
"Everyone made it back. No casualties."
                          
His words slowly processed, and as they did, she sank just as slowly to her knees, resting her forehead against the table. Everyone made it back. No casualties. The words seemed fake, like a manifestation of her own desires, but she realized he was right. She had been there to greet every trooper that had come back. None of the Jedi had reported casualties within their squads, and all of the missing Jedi had been extracted. Not only did they complete the mission, but it was also a true success. Compared to the disaster that was the first mission she had led, this was pure bliss.
                          
And for the first time, at that moment, she truly felt like a Jedi. All her Youngling and Padawan life, she had been seeking out and waiting for the day that she would feel like she had really become what she had set out to be. Ahsoka had been convinced that there would be a mission or an event that would personally mark her as a Jedi. And yet, in the most ironic way possible, it had come after she had finally released that dream, when she was nothing more than a civilian. It had come when her only mission was to save people: to rescue those who had been lost and to free those who had been enslaved, and to protect those still with her. Those had been her top three priorities, not to look good in the eyes of her superiors, not to bring down the Separatist regime, but to protect life itself. This was leading, this was peacemaking. This was what a Jedi was supposed to be.
                          
Shakily, she released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. "Rex, I swear, if you're messing with me right now, I will strangle you."
                          
He only laughed and knelt down beside her. Resting an arm on her shoulder, he suggested, "I think you've made some progress in the past few years."
                          
"Yeah, ya think?" She teased, smiling, and looking up at him. "Took me long enough."
                          
"It's like I said, experience outranks everything," he reminded her. "Looks like you've done your time."
                          
She leaned up against him, grateful for the friend that had gotten her there. "This is what I miss," she said softly, gazing at the floor. "Actually doing what I meant to do, the way I meant to do it."
                          
Rex squeezed her in a hug, before pulling his commander up to her feet. "If only all Jedi were like you."
                          
"They're supposed to be, that's the problem," she told him, glancing back at the hologram. "The Order went wrong somewhere along the way, whenever Sideous decided to get involved."
                          
"And when you saw it, you left," he completed, her story finally coming around full circle. The Jedi Council would never formally recognize it, he knew, but Ahsoka Tano had the soul of a Jedi now, even if her heart and mind weren't in the same place. 
                          
She winced and closed her eyes. "Sometimes, I hate how the galaxy works."
                          
Rex wanted to respond, to tell her that she was right, but there was nothing really to say. After a long pause, his eyes flicked to the holster on her hip. "I see you've picked up fighting with a blaster."
                          
Startled out of her daze, she pulled the blaster from her side. "Stupid piece of junk. I'm surprised it didn't break while I was down there. It's been falling apart for two months now."
                          
"Where did you get it?" He asked, leaning against the table and crossing his arms. "Is there a dealer you could see?"
                          
"A friend grabbed it out of a junk pile," she answered, smacking the barrel before tossing it onto the counter. "I've been repairing it every so often, but nothing's working. I think it's run its course."
                          
"It doesn't look like it's holding up all that great," he commented, before squinting at what he saw. "Is that duct tape?"
                          
She glared at him. "Shut up, I made do with what I had."
                          
He raised a blond eyebrow at her. "That is such a bad idea on so many levels, Ahsoka."
                          
"Do you have any better ideas?" She retorted, following him out of the room. She didn't expect to see a group of people waiting for her on the other side.
                          
Rex's face split into a grin. "As a matter of fact, I do."
                          
Fox, Jessie, and Dogma were standing around the door, expectantly looking at their commander. Jesse tossed a black holster at her, which she barely managed to catch. She pulled the blaster out from the handle and marveled at what she saw. 
                          
Just like her starfighter had been, the exterior had been spray painted to coordinate with her features. A black '501' was printed on the back, and the sides were delicately covered with orange, white, and blue paint, fresh enough that she could still smell it. It was much smaller than her blaster, and not nearly as bulky. Needless to say, it was much higher quality as well. 
                          
"Rex told us about your... 'piece of junk', after the mission," Fox explained, quoting her from a few seconds ago. "We figured the least we could do was remedy that."
                          
"Can't have the commander of the 501st stuck with a blaster like that," Dogma tutted, slapping Jesse on the back. "This guy did the paint job, of course. Figured it needed a few personal touches."
                          
Ahsoka smiled as Jesse blushed. "It suits you better than the other one," was all he could say, but all of them were smiling. 
                          
In response, she unclipped the old holster from her belt and attached the black one, sliding her new blaster into place. "I couldn't agree more. Thank you."
                          
The five of them united for a group hug, which blocked the hallway entirely. Someone's elbow was digging into Ahsoka's stomach, but she didn't care. Not when it was them.
                          
When they began to release, she half-heartedly glared at the three of the soldiers. "Good to know you've been eavesdropping. I'll have to be careful about what I say now."
                          
They laughed but Rex covered for them. "I told them to wait outside the door. Besides," he added, "We would never leave our sister hanging."
                          
Ahsoka could only stare at him, humbled and honored that anyone would even consider her so close as to claim her as family. She tried to open her mouth to say something, but only air came out. She was only saved by the beeping of her comlink. 
                          
"Ahsoka, the Masters are awake again! Hurry!"