Are you scared?

Rex picked his way through the rubble of what had once been a beautiful city square, Skywalker’s new Padawan at his side.

“Have you thought about moving that line back?”

“Thank you, but General Skywalker thinks they’re fine where they are.”

“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?”

“Technically, you’re only a youngling.”

“Padawan!”

“Look, littl’un,” Rex said, “why don’t I explain how things are in the real world?”

Ahsoka bristled visibly. “I still think—”

This time, he did interrupt. “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 sat down on a chunk of masonry so he was at eye level with her. He preferred training by example, but that would have involved letting her get blown up, and he had to cut her some slack. She was just a kid, full of a kid’s weird mix of uncertainty and overconfidence about a brand-new rank. “I take my orders from General Skywalker. It’s called the chain of command, and it matters. And you take your orders from him, too, because you’re his Padawan. With me so far?”

That defiant jut of her chin had receded a little. “Yes, Captain.”

“Want to learn the most important things about being a soldier? Experience matters. One,” he said. “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 us give him one hundred percent. It’s because he treats us with respect, and he puts himself on the line with us.”

Rex paused to let it sink in. He took a guess that she wanted desperately to be taken seriously, and treated like an adult. She’d grow up all too soon in this war anyway.

“So … are you scared?”

“Yes. Are you?”

“You bet.”

~

Ahsoka's personality was shaped by Rex as much as by Anakin.

His down-to-earth attitude, optimism, and true good heart.

Across the years and the series, their bond is a gem.

[My fabulous earrings by @spectralpinsandthings]