“It’s as good a theory as any,” Malik agreed. “They might be helpful to us someday.”
“Be careful, sir,” Rex cautioned. “Bo-Katan is still a merciless warrior. Trusting her crew could be a fatal mistake, believe me.”
“Never said I would trust her, Rex,” Malik replied with a grin. “But there is that old saying, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Sounds like we share a common foe with her.”
“So what’s our plan?” Rex asked. “We’re all fugitives now, need a good place to hide out.”
“Well, before we picked you up, we were on our way to Atollon,” Sera said.
“Atollon? Why? I mean I’m all for hiding in remote locations, but there’s nothing there! No villages, trading posts, nothing of the sort,” Rex protested.
“Let’s just say it’s… Jedi business,” Malik replied. “But I completely understand if you want no part of it, Rex. Just say the word, and we’ll take you wherever you need to go. No questions asked.”
“Well… I suppose there’s no harm in traveling with you two for a while. That is, if you wouldn’t mind. I don’t want to impose-”
“Done,” Serra interrupted. “You have a place on our ship as long as you want it, Rex. You’re more than a mere soldier to us; you’re our friend.”
“Thanks, that’s all very sweet, but shouldn’t we be in hyperspace by now?” Rex asked with a chuckle.
“Got the coordinates programed. Hang on,” Malik replied, activating the Middle Way’s hyperdrive unit.
“Malik, why don’t you assign Rex a bedroom? Give him a place to rest his head, ya know?” Serra asked.
“Sounds good. Rex?”
“Agreed. Haven’t slept in two days…”
The soldier followed Malik from the cockpit and down the main hallway of the ship, first passing by the entrance to the captain’s quarters. They soon made their way to the bunk area, containing four rooms with a pair of beds in each. Malik opened the nearest one and entered, beckoning Rex to follow.
“Here we are, all yours.”
“So I won’t be bunking with you, sir?”
“Nope, you’ll have the place to yourself,” Malik said with a grin.
“Good… that’s good…”
“You ok, Rex?”
“Oh, yes. Sorry, I guess it’s… we clones aren’t allowed to get used to the idea of having a place to call our own. Goes against our loyal soldier programming. Our lives are not our own.”
“I understand,” Malik replied. “With the fall of the Jedi Order, Serra and I have had a lot of things to adjust to as well. This is a new world we’re living in, and it can be frightening.” Sighing, he continued, “Listen… there’s something I want to go ahead and fill you in on. You’re going to find out at some point regardless, and I don’t want it to be awkward for you or anything.”
“Sir?” Rex asked in confusion.
“Serra and I got married yesterday.”
“That’s wonderful, sir! Congratulations!” Rex said, grabbing Malik into an excited handshake. “Why would you think that awkward?”
“It’s something that Serra and I are still getting used to, being in love. It goes against everything the Jedi Order ever taught us.”
“Hmm… I can relate to that, I suppose.”
“What do you mean?” Malik inquired.
“Well, we clones were forbidden from that as well. Not only from falling in love, but also from any sort of physical intimacy. It’s part of our programming, to prevent any corrupted genetic material from replicating itself.”
“The Kaminoans didn’t want to make copies of copies…” Malik mused.
“Exactly.”
“But I would have thought they would simply have prevented that by making you and your brothers incapable of having children?”
“I’d have thought so too, but apparently not. I actually encountered a clone deserter once. He had left the army in secret, settled down, married a beautiful Twi’lek girl, and had a couple of kids even. At first I hated him; saw him as a traitor. But…”
“But you saw how much he cared for his family, didn’t you?”
“I did,” Rex replied. “In spite of his actions against his brothers, the man lived his life with honor. He’d do anything to keep his family safe. The experience was a tough pill to swallow, but I’m still glad I didn’t turn him in.”
Malik walked up to him and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. “And now, it’s your turn to build your own future. I don’t care what your original programming says; your life is your own now. You have every right to live it as you wish. That right is what we Jedi have fought our entire existence to preserve. And if you want to fall in love with a beautiful girl,” he continued, poking Rex in the chest, “you have every right to do so.”
Sighing, Rex said, “Thank you, sir. I… I know it’ll take time, getting used to this new freedom that’s been thrust upon me. But I’m glad you two found me. Sounds like it’s what the Force wanted to happen, if one believes in that sort of thing.”
“I happen to think this is the will of the Force,” Malik grinned. “We don’t just happen upon a clone trooper, we happen upon the best soldier in the army, and find that he refused to betray the Jedi! If that’s not the will of the Force, what is?”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Oh and one more thing: don’t call me sir. It’s Malik. That’s an order, soldier.”
“Yes s… er, Malik.”
“Sleep well, Rex,” Malik said, closing the door behind him.
“Night.”
————-
Leave a Reply