"They're back!" Ahsoka, Obi-Wan, and Krell ran up next to Skywalker. The army of battle droids marched towards them for another attack.

  "I told you this victory was too easy. We never should have sent the ship back for supplies."

  "It wasn't my idea to send the ship back."

Ahsoka smiled under her hood at Obi-Wan and Anakin's bickering. She had listened to them quip at each other for the past few days and it was quite amusing.

Explosions boomed around them.

  Obi-Wan ignored Anakin's last comment. "All right, men. Second wave incoming."

  "Rex, you and your men follow me," Anakin yelled to his first-in-command. The Jedi knight ran off, followed by a Clone with armor with blue designs and a few more soldiers.

  "Cody, battle positions!" Kenobi ordered his own first-in-command.

Master Krell barked orders at his commander. What was his name again? Ahsoka couldn't remember. Krell had forbidden her to connect with his troops. For what reason, Ahsoka could only guess.

  "Padawan, stay here and defend the men. Don't let one shot go past you!" Master Krell growled. Then he jumped into the chaos, swinging his huge lightsabers and destroying battle droids. Ahsoka did as she was told. She blocked and deflected the red plasma while the Clones fired back behind her.

As she fought, Ahsoka spotted a figure flip through the air and land on a Octuptarra tri-droid. It was Master Skywalker. The Clones he brought with him flew down with jet packs and attacked the droid from below. The Octuptarra eventually crumpled and collapsed. Anakin jumped with the Force to the next droid and destroyed that one, too. He and his men retreated back to the rest of the army. Ahsoka watched Skywalker and Kenobi share a few words, which she couldn't hear over the roar and booming of battle.

Ahsoka had been fighting the Separatists ever since she became Pong Krell's Padawan. But the war never felt like it actually began until now. Especially since most of her fights were space battles.

Separatists tanks floated into the fray. Republic forces answered them with their cannons. The Separatists suddenly realized they couldn't move past the cannons.

  "Retreat! Retreat!" The cry echoed off of the crystal buildings. The battle droids obeyed the order.

  "They're falling back," Anakin announced in slight surprise.

  "We'd better regroup," Kenobi replied grimly. "It won't be long before those droids figure a way around our cannons." The three Jedi walked back to their men.

Ahsoka sighed and shut off her lightsaber. Even if it took the Separatists all day to figure out a way to evade their cannons, it wouldn't matter. They were stuck here. They had tried to contact Master Yoda, but their connection was cut off when enemy ships arrived. Unfortunately, their own cruisers couldn't send support either. They were on their own.

Ahsoka hurried over to her masters.

  "I'll check on Rex in the lookout post," Anakin was telling them.

  "Mind if I tag along?" Ahsoka asked with a grin. Really, she just wanted to escape Master Krell. She could feel the frustration from the absent victory radiating off him. It was best to stay
clear of him while he was in this mood.

* * *

Anakin scowled in annoyance. Yes, he did mind. Just because he was nice to her once, doesn't mean he wanted to be her buddy. Anakin thought that she might be feeling too comfortable around him.

  "Fine." Ahsoka grinned wider and skipped after him. The two young Jedi climbed up to the lookout post where Rex and his men were watching for enemy activity. "What's the statist, Rex?" Anakin inquired in a professional tone.

  "Quiet for now, sir," Rex reported, his back straightening in respect. "They're gearing up for another assault." Rex glanced at Ahsoka, who was taking in the view. "Who's the youngling?"

Ahsoka spun on her heel and faced him.

  "I'm Padawan Ahsoka Tano," she introduced, emphasizing her title. Rex raised an eyebrow confusedly at his general.

  "Sir, I thought you said you'd never had a Padawan?"

Anakin sighed. He hoped Ahsoka wouldn't constantly remind him of the mix up.

  "The youngling isn't with me. She's General Pong Krell's youngling."

  "Stop calling me that!" Ahsoka exclaimed. Then she smirked. "Skyguy."

Anakin whirled around and glared at the annoying Togruta. She was definitely far to comfortable with him because now she was annoying him on purpose!

  "What did you just call me?" Anakin ignored the laughter that Rex was failing to hide. "Don't get snippy with me, little one. You know, I don't even think you're old enough to be a Padawan."

  "Well, maybe I'm not." Then she smirked again. "But Master Yoda thinks I am."

  "Well, you're not with Master Yoda now." He glanced back at Captain Rex and smirked slyly. The Clone stopped laughing abruptly. "Captain Rex can show you how a little respect can go a long way."

* * *

Rex stared at his general in shock. So this was Anakin's revenge. Rex noted mentally that he shouldn't tick off General Skywalker ever again. Rex knew that Anakin could think of much worse paybacks.

  "Right," Rex forced out at last. He smiled at the young Togruta. "Come on, youngling."

  "Padawan," Ahsoka reminded him through clenched teeth as she followed.

* * *

Okay, so maybe Ahsoka pushed a bit too far with her teasing. She just felt... safe. Away from Krell, Ahsoka felt more relaxed and safe. She was free to be snippy, funny, sarcastic, whatever she wanted. So she did. And now she was walking with a Clone stranger who was supposed to teach her respect. Wonderful. At least she knew he would be a much gentler than Master Krell.

* * *

The Clone and Jedi walked though the Central Plaza of the damaged Crystal City.

  "Have you thought about moving that line back, Captain?" Ahsoka suggested. "They'd have better cover that way."

  "Thank you for the suggestion, but General Skywalker thinks they're fine where they are," Rex turned down politely. So, she's kind of a know-it-all. Or at least, too scared to reveal that she didn't know enough. Rex could work with that.

  "But they need cover."

  "They also need range."

  "What if I gave you an order to move the cannons? You're a captain, and I'm a Jedi, so I technically outrank you, right?"

  "In my book, experience outranks everything," Rex told her wisely. The girl huffed and her shoulders tensed. Or that's what Rex thought they were doing. It was difficult to tell with her cloak on.

  "I still think..."

  "Are you scared?"

  "No!"

  "Well, you should be. Because if you're not scared in a war, then you haven't grasped the severity of your situation," Rex explained. He sat down on a chunk of masonry so he was eye level with her. For the first time, Rex had complete view of her face. White facial Togruta markings popped against her orange skin. Her large, blue eyes shone bright with childlike innocence and her blue and white striped headtails framed her tiny face. There was an occasional scar here and there on her lekkus, but Rex assumed that they were from past battles or careless accidents when she was younger. "I take my orders from General Skywalker. It's called a chain of command, and it matters, because we all have to be clear who's in charge, or else we'll be running around like nuna. And you take orders from General Pong Krell because you're his Padawan, correct?"

It almost slipped his attention, but Rex noticed the youngling flinch at the name of her Master. Her chin rose a bit higher.

  "Yes, Captain," she addressed coldly. The Clone couldn't help but feel that he had unintentionally hit a sore spot.

  "Want to learn the most important things about being a solider? I mean the things they don't teach you at the Temple."

  "I rarely study at the Temple," Ahsoka informed him. "Master Krell doesn't stay there."

  "Then something that General Krell has obviously neglected to teach you... err, no offense."

  "None taken. I'm listening." Her chin dropped lower. "Experience matters."

Rex ratcheted down a few notches. He didn't want to rub it in her face. You had to climb down with them.

  "One, orders. You follow orders. They keep you alive. Two, you're part of a team. We look out for our buddies. I cover your back, you cover mine. And three, an officer rank doesn't give you automatic respect. You earn it. It's not just Skywalker's rank that makes me give him 100%. It's because he treats us with respect, and he puts himself on the line with us." Rex paused to let that sink in. He guessed that Ahsoka desperately wanted to be treated like an adult, with respect and taken seriously. He'll grant her that. Sadly, she will grow up far too quickly in this war.

* * *

Ahsoka digested his words. Pong Krell indeed neglected to teach her that. Pong did the opposite of what Rex told her. He demanded respect, but he truly didn't earn it with his troops, which explains why he didn't have it. He also didn't have Ahsoka's respect; he had her fear from the abuse. Because he never taught her this lesson, Ahsoka was demanding respect like Krell does. The truth disgusted Ahsoka.

* * *

  "That makes sense," she spoke at last.

  "So... are you scared?"

  "Yes. Are you?"

  "You bet. So do we have an understanding, Padawan?"

  "Yes, Captain," Ahsoka replied, a bit more lighthearted because he had called her Padawan instead of youngling. "There is nothing quite like experience."

  "Excellent. Come on, let's walk the perimeter." The blond Clone stood up and the two continued their walk.

  "What's that?" Ahsoka asked suddenly. The captain's head snapped up to the horizon. His stomach dropped and knotted in horror. A red energy shield fired into the sky and created a dome around what was most likely the droid army. And it was expanding.

  "Uh oh. That's not good. It's going to make things damned near impossible. If you want experience, little one, you're about to get plenty."

* * *

Anakin glanced up from the holochart to find Rex and Ahsoka sprinting over to them. He grinned to himself, wondering in amusement what Ahsoka did to annoy the Clone, and how Rex possibly managed to teach her respect. He watched as Pong Krell yanked his Padawan aside to talk to her. Anakin didn't give it much thought. It was none of his business.

The Jedi Knight turned his attention back to the holochart of Crystal City. He watched the moving points of light that represented the droid army and the red dome of the energy shield, which was slowly growing closer. It worried him.

  His former master tilted his head. "It's hard to pinpoint the field generator precisely, but it's got to be in this area somewhere. The field's elliptical, which means it's probably within this radius." Obi-Wan pointed a gloved finger into the blue hologram. "Cannon's not gonna make a dent in that, so I say we save our ordnance for later. In the meantime, all we can do is try to engage them in confined spaces."

  "We'll draw them into the buildings," Rex began. "They've got to find us to fight us. They can't fire their own cannon from inside the shield, so let's make their defenses work against themselves."

When Anakin glanced up to listen to his captain, he was mildly surprised to find that Ahsoka and Krell had joined them.

Ahsoka watched in silence. Anakin wondered what Rex had taught her to subdue her annoying ebullience. She was obviously calculating, her blue eye darting from one side of the holo to the other.

  "If that shield's gonna be such a problem, why don't we just take it out?" Ahsoka asked suggestively.

  "Padawan, not only is that a dangerous and suicidal plan, but it is not your place to speak," Krell scolded. Ahsoka shrank back and hid her face from underneath her hood.

Anakin stared at Master Krell in surprise. He kind of agreed that it was a dangerous plan, but that didn't give the Besalisk a reason to snap at his Padawan. Obi-Wan was never that cold to him. And how would Ahsoka learn if she didn't experience first hand? Also, her plan did seem like the only option.

  "Well, I, for one..." Anakin cleared his throat, slightly embarrassed with the words that were about to escape his mouth next, "agree with her. Someone has to get to that shield generator and destroy it. That's the key."

  "I could do it!" Ahsoka offered instantly. "Let me try, Skyguy."

Anakin noticed the expression that Rex sent her. He felt the same way: a kind of sad guilt. Also, the Jedi Knight realized that she had asked him to let her try, not her own master.

  "You don't have to prove anything, littl'un," Rex assured her quietly.

  "You are also are incapable of successfully completing this impossible solo mission," Krell told her. "No. You will not take the mission."

  "I can do it. I know I can. I'm small and fast. And where better to use Jedi skills?"

  "Right, then." Obi-Wan spoke before Pong Krell could. "Anakin, you and Ahsoka can tiptoe through the enemy lines and solve this particular problem together."

  "We can do it," Ahsoka assured him. Kenobi didn't comment. He walked away to the comm console to consult with Commander Cody. Master Krell grabbed Ahsoka's arm at her bicep and pulled her away to talk to her privately. Anakin gave Rex a discreet jerk of his head to indicate that he wanted to speak with him.

  "Don't tell me you can do mind influence, too, Rex," Anakin joked quietly. "But it's impressive, whatever it is."

  "Okay, I might have overdone the pep talk on how to be a good officer, sir," Rex admitted.

  "It worked."

  "She's desperate to get it right. I'd hate to think I made her feel she has to do something suicidal to earn my respect."

  "She's not a passenger, Rex. If she can pull her own weight, she has to. She's no less expendable than me or you in this war."

There was an awkward pause as Rex digested his words.

  "Okay, sir."

* * *

Ahsoka's heart beat faster as Krell pulled her away for the second time.

The first time he did, he had demanded to know where she had been. When she told him that she was with Captain Rex, he then demanded to know if she had revealed anything about her abuse. She shook her head no.

Now he was glaring down at her. His great height made her feel tinier than ever.

  "You were not supposed to talk," he scolded. "You are only a Padawan. Not a Knight."

  "Yes, Master." What else could she say?

  "Continue on this mission with Skywalker. But DO NOT take off your cloak or hood. Keep our little secret." He squeezed her arm so hard that it left a dark purple bruise. "Am I understood?"

  "Yes, Master," Ahsoka whispered and ripped her arm out of his meaty hand. She sprinted over to where Anakin was waiting with Rex. The Chosen One turned around and the two walked off.

  "If we survive this, Snips, you and I are gonna have a talk."

  "Snips?" she asked indignantly.

  "That's what you get for being snippy. Got it?"

  "Got it, Master Skywalker. Let's go."