Published: 2024-11-17
Ahsoka didn't even have time to turn around before she was shot. She blacked out immediately. Rex tried to pull out his pistols to return fire at the clone commando squad who was attacked, but he was shot in the chest before his hands even reached his blasters.
—
"We need a medic!"
CT-56411 "Streak" heard the shot, then the scream. he sprinted to Ahsoka and kneeled beside her. She had been shot in the upper back, though it appeared to have missed her heart. He leaned over her face and put two fingers on her neck. She wasn't breathing. Her heart had stopped. He began compressions immediately. He looked over to Rex and saw CT-9856 "Harbinger" stripping Rex's breastplate off. The rest of the clones opened fire at the clone commandos. They stunned two in short order, but the other two killed thirteen clones before escaping into their own territory.
—
"Sir, Epsilon Squad has reported back. They took two casualties, but Tano and Seetee-Seven-Five-Six-Seven have both been shot. Epsilon had to escape quickly, so whether or not they survived is unknown," CT-5597 reported to CC-5908.
"Good. Alert me in twelve hours if Tano adn Seetee-Seven-Fire-Six-Seven have been seen since."
"Yes, sir."
—
When Rex woke, he was in the medical bay. His right arm was in a sling and his whole body hurt. He looked to his left to see Ahsoka lying unconscious. He tried sitting up, but a medical droid floated over and pushed him back down. "Seetee-Seven-Five-Six-Seven, please lie down. You require rest."
Rex sighed but complied with the droid. "How's Commander Tano?" he asked.
"Advisory Ahsoka Tano was shot by a blaster in the back. Her right lung collapsed, but it ahs been repaired. However, she is now in a coma. We are uncertain if she will wake up," the droid responded.
A clone medic walked over to them. "Sir, would you like to command from bed or would you like to appoint someone else to command in your absence?"
I'm fine, trooper. I don't need to stay here," Rex said, trying again to stand up.
"Sir, with all due respect, you are too injured to fight. You need to stay here."
Rex thought for a moment and decided the medic was probably right. "Uh... I'd like to appoint Captain Zeer acting commander."
"Yes, sir. I'll send for him immediately."
—
Captain Zeer was checking in on his wounded men when he received a transmission. "Captain, Commander Rex has asked you to come visit him in Medbay One-Three."
"I'll be there shortly." He turned back tot he trooper he had beent alking to. "Gotta go, Slingshot. Get better."
When he arrived in Medbay 13 he found Commanders Tano and Rex lying in beds. He had heard that Rex had been shot in the Chest, Ahsoka in the back; they had both survived, but Ahsoka was in a coma. He walked over to Rex's bedside. "Hey, Rex. How are you doing?"
"I'm fine, but the medics say I have to rest. I'm appointing you acting commander of our forces until I'm fit for duty."
"I'm... honored, sir. What would you have me do?"
"Well, take control of the ship, of course," Rex joked. "In all seriousness, though, we were planning to take control of the lift access points on all remaining decks below Deck Seven. When you get to the maintenance deck, use the temporary walls from the armories so you don't have to take the entire deck. After you've takken those points, use your best judgement for further courses of action. I need to rest, so don't bother me unless it is of critical importance."
"Yes, sir. I will do my best to lead us to victory." Zeer saluted Rex, and Rex saluted back.
—
Zeer took three platoons of clones to capture the maintenance deck lift access. He met zero resistance. Not that surprising. It was the maintenance deck, after all. Not particularly important to protect. They left a squad behind to guard and moved on to Deck 1. Still no enemy forces. That was odd. There were no enemies on Decks 2, 3, or 5, either. Zeer figured a large force must have been sent to the hangars in case they were planning on escaping. They weren't, of course—they were going to take the ship—but Vert wouldn't know that.
They met some enemy forces on Deck 6, and those clones notified others. The original opposition consisted of only a two-man guard patrol, whom Zeer's men took out quickly, but they were soon surrounded by three platoons of troopers.
"Close the blast doors!" Zeer ordered. A few clones made it through the doors before they shut, but they were quickly defeated. The rest of the enemies were captured using their standard tactics: open the door; stun clones; pull clones inside; close the door; repeat.
Now that all the lift access points that had been taken, Zeer made the decision that their next targets would be the barracks on every deck. Not all at once, mind you—they had a sizeable force now, but Zeer felt that spreading them out on so many fronts was too risky. They would take them one deck at a time, starting on Deck 6 and moving downwards from there.
The barracks on Decks 2 through 6 were relatively empty, which was strange. When they got to Deck 1, they figured out why.