Two rotations passed in a whirlwind. Travelling to a small planet called Solstice, Cody, Rex and their team were met by unwelcomed Separatists forces; not only on land but in the skies too. They had managed to drive the enemy back; heaps of Clanker remains marked out their victorious path as they  cleared several villages. Seeing everybody would happily sleep on the cold, hard gound, the Generals called them to make camp.

                                                              *

Cody walked through the campsite, checking on his men, making sure they were settled. He also made sure there were guards on duty at every moment; he didn't want anybody else getting hurt today.   A few moments later, he wondered to the temporary med  bay Kix had set up and checked on the wounded; Kix gave him the rundown on the number and seriousness of the wounded under his care. Satisfied that the wounded were in good hands, Cody searched for  the General to give his  report.He found Obi-Wan standing with Anakin, his Padawan Ahsoka, and Rex, as they all looked at some maps of the area, highlighted where the enemy were gathering.

 Obi-Wan looked up, sensing Cody's approach, and smiled warmly at him. Cody pulled off his helmet, tucking it under his arm as he stopped beside Obi-Wan."Cody, how did your rounds go?" Obi-Wan asked, stopping talks of plans for now.

"Good, General, all men are settled with guard rosters set, and the wounded are in the capable hands of Kix and Helix," reported Cody formally.

 Obi-Wan nodded, as his eyes precisely scanned Cody's armour, which had a few new marks on it from some close calls, though that was nothing new from a battle. Cody tilted his head slightly, trying to reassure his cyare without words that he was okay. Obi-Wan gave a small nod, turning back to the map."I was actually going to take Captain Rex to scout this nearby village that we just cleared," Cody pointed it out on the map, "to make sure no droids have come back to it that will threaten us during the night."

Obi-Wan gave a slow nod, stroking his beard."Sounds like a good idea," he said slowly. "Okay, but be careful, both of you."

Cody gave Obi-Wan one last smile before he jammed on his helmet, Rex following suit."Sure ya don't want to give him an emotional farewell hug?" Rex teased through their private channel.

"Rex, I will assign you to latrine duty if you say that one more time," Cody reminded him. "I'm sure your men will get a kick out of it, especially Fives." He smirked at the sound of Rex's grumbled muttering over the comm.

The two headed off after giving final instructions to their second-in-commands."Ugh, I hate jungle planets," Rex complained as he tripped over yet another vine hidden amongst the fallen foliage.

 Cody barely kept from laughing at the sight of his brother stumbling around. "Come on, Captain, it's better than a swamp planet,"

"Ha ha, laugh it up, Commander," Rex retorted deadpan.

 They finally reached the deserted village; its occupants long since fled once the Separatists had begun destroying the buildings, aiming to kill anybody in their paths, no matter how old or young they were. Cody and Rex walked around the crumbled buildings, keeping an eye on their HUDs for any heat signatures or movements. "They really did a number on this place," Rex muttered darkly, head turning as he took in the destroyed buildings.

"The Seppies don't give a damn about civilian life," Cody sighed, shaking his head. He quickly spun around as he heard a grunt of pain from Rex. Rex was plucking a dart from his neck, shaking his head dizzily. Cody quickly jogged over to his side, hand going to support Rex's arm as he swayed."Rex! What happened? Do you feel okay?" Cody questioned quickly as he examined the dart Rex was holding.

 "I-I don't know, I feel weird, Codes," Rex murmured, voice slurring, as he swayed. Cody blinked rapidly a few times to activate scans on his HUD, looking for any lifeforms to find who had shot the dart and who to defend his brother and himself from. Rex's knees buckled under him, sending him to the ground. Cody quickly crouched beside him, yanking his helmet off. Rex's eyes were glazed as he blinked rapidly, as though trying to clear his vision, sweat appearing in Rex's hairline. Rex's golden eyes landed on him, widening slightly.

"C-Cody, behind you," he whispered as his eyes rolled back into his head. He slumped forward into Cody's arms.

Cody quickly, but carefully, laid Rex on the ground before he turned, defending himself against a blow aiming for his head. The force of it still knocked his helmet off. He reached for his blaster. His attacker quickly kicked from his hand, sending it skidding across the ground, leaving him to fight hand to hand. Cody glared at masked attacker as he took a few steps back, making sure to protect Rex while he was so vulnerable. He needed Obi-Wan. Cody reached to his comm but never reached it, another attacker lunging at him from the side, tackling him to the ground. Cody hit the dirt hard. He was temporarily paralysed;  his attackers  rolled him onto his stomach, pinning him down, as they forced his arms behind his back. Cody struggled under them, trying to break free of their strong grips.

"A Commander and a Captain," one of them sniggered.

 "We'll be rich," smirked the other.

"You won't get away with this!" Cody snarled from under them. He hissed in pain as something sharp pricked his neck, breaching his neck seal.

"Ah, Commander, we already have," one of them whispered in his ear before everything went pitch black.