When I wrote my extended Umbara scene titled "Bent to Near Broken," someone suggested in the comments that I do more of the Umbara Arc or follow through to the end and after. So, here I am! The story begins a few chapters before "Bent to Near Broken" and the story will continue hopefully until after the arc. Enjoy my extended, altered version of Umbara!

Note: Some of the dialogue was taken directly from the Umbara episodes. I own nothing but my imagination.


General Pong Krell was dangerous, that much was clear. What wasn'tas clear was exactly how dangerous…

And it was something Rex was certain he never wanted to find out.

The Jedi general's plans were reckless to the point of suicidal; he had no respect for the soldiers who so dedicatedly served under him; and it was no secret that his dislike for clones stretched far below the surface.

Some might even call it hatred.

And it was tearing them all apart.

General Krell didn't listen to Rex the way General Skywalker did, that was also painfully clear, dismissing most of his ideas as irrelevant or insignificant. Seeing he had no control over the planning aspect of the battle, Rex came to realize the very best he could do was try to protect as many of his men as he could.

Protect them from the relentless Umbarans.

Protect them from Krell.

Because they were his men, not Krell's. The intimidating Besalisk might be the general, but Captain Rex was the only one on that dark planet of chaos worth looking up to, not Krell.

Never Krell…

And Fives, they looked to him for direction too, despite his lack of high rank.

Fives…

One of these days, the ARC trooper's boldness was going to get him in more trouble than Rex could handle.

Heart still racing after the unexpected attack from the shadow warriors of Umbara, Rex holstered his blaster as he watched the general shove his way through the line of troopers, knocking to the side any in his path.

"CT-7567!" Krell shouted as she pushed Fives out of the way with one of his four well-muscled arms. "Do you have a malfunction in your design?"

And that was another thing that rubbed Rex the wrong way: Krell treated them all as if they were merely organic droids. It gave Rex flashbacks of the Kaminoans and he was reminded why he'd been so glad to finally ship off that chilly, wet planet.

"You've pulled your forces back from taking the capital city!" Krell's rage was palpable and only seemed to escalate further with each passing second. Rex held his breath. "The enemy now has control of our route."

You don't say…

Rex caught sight of Fives hovering behind the general, fists curling into tight, trembling balls. Ever so slightly, Rex motioned for the trooper to stand down.

If Krell needed someone to yell at, fine. If he wanted someone to push around, so be it.

Rex wouldn't complain.

But he sure as the Seven Corellian Hells wasn't going to let any of his brothers be that someone.

No, it would be him and him alone.

Stay out of this, Fives, he pleaded silently as Krell continued his tirade. Stand down.

Krell's finger jabbing at his chest plate took Rex by surprise and he had to force his feet not to stumble backwards.

"All because of your failure!"

Fives moved again and Rex shook his head.

But it was no use. It never was…

And now Fives was mouthing off to the general, the very same who'd just very nearly knocked Rex onto the ground.

He had to stop him before… before…

Before what? What could possibly happen?

The answer came like a blaster bolt to his heart.

Anything.

"... In case you haven't noticed," Fives was saying, quickly catching Krell's attention.

Stop! Just shut it, Fives, before you get us all—

"Captain Rex just saved this platoon." A wicked grimace took hold of Krell's face as Fives continued. "Surely you fail to recognize that."

Now, Krell was turning towards Fives, and Rex found himself aching for that horrible expression to be centered back on himself.

"ARC-5555," Krell growled, calling his double-bladed lightsaber to his hand with the Force, "stand down."

Rex felt his heart skip a beat when one of the blades ignited, casting a sickly green glow on Fives helmet.

Fives helmet…

"Sir, yes, sir…" came Fives reluctant mutter, but something kept him from backing away.

It was the same thing that kept Rex rooted to his spot.

Krell's blade.

The blade was inching closer and closer, lowering slowly towards the vulnerable section of neck between helmet and shoulder pad.

Stop… Why doesn't he stop?

Why won't he—?

Rex was moving before he even knew what he was truly doing. All that mattered was stopping that blade before it reached his brother.

All that mattered was acting.

Because if he didn't act now, Fives would more than likely walk away with severe burns or a lifelong scar. Neither was a thing Rex was willing to leave to chance.

So, he reached a hand out…

… And latched onto the bottom of Krell's saber before pulling back with no small amount of force.

"Sir," he began, trying hard to keep his voice steady, "if I may address you—"

A burst of pain ruptured his skull as a sudden weight smacked against his helmet, sending him stumbling backwards. For one long, terrifying moment, Rex thought he might hit the ground. Instead, Jesse's strong arms broke his fall, pushing him back to his feet just in time to face their seething general.

Several murmurs rippled through the crowd of troopers and Rex prayed they would go undetected by the giant wall of rage hovering before him.

"How dare you touch this lightsaber!" Krell spat, invading Rex's once personal space. "This is the sacred weapon of the Jedi, not something to be manhandled by some clone who believes himself to be of a higher station than he will ever be capable of achieving!"

Rex fought to quiet the ringing in his ears. "Sir, I don't—"

"Of course, you don't, and you never will."

What in the stars is he talking about?

"And that goes for all of you!" Krell went on, raising his voice even louder. "No clone will ever be worthy of handling these weapons, much less even touching them! Am I clear?"

Krell was in his face again and it was all Rex could do not to shrink back.

He noticed Fives had wisely retreated back into the crowd of brothers. Using his common sense, for once.

"I said," Krell repeated, now hovering mere millimeters from Rex's helmet, "am I clear, CT-7567?"

Rex swallowed softly. "Perfectly, sir."

"Good." At last, Krell straightened, giving the captain some breathing room. "Now, the march towards the capital will—"

"Sir," Rex cut in before he lost his chance completely, "if I may address your earlier accusation…"

When Krell made no move to stop him, Rex took a breath and continued, keeping his eyes fixed on the general lest he lose his resolve. "I followed your orders…" Proceed with caution, a little voice inside warned. "Even in the face of a plan that was, in my opinion, severely flawed." He took note of the way Krell kept his saber ignited, but there was no going back now.

"A plan that cost us men." Rex could hear his voice begin to raise along with his anger and he ripped off his helmet, finding its confines suffocating to no end. "Not clones. Men. As sure as it is my duty to remain loyal to your command, I also have another duty: to protect those men."

As Krell deactivated his weapon and clipped it back onto his belt, there was no trace of his previous hostility, making Rex wonder if he was still talking to the same being.

"You have a spark of tenacity, Captain."

So, we're back to Captain now?

"I'll give you that. Now, I know I don't command like the Jedi you're used to serving—certainly not like General Skywalker."

Never like General Skywalker.

"But I have my way. It may be difficult, but these are difficult times." Another finger stabbed in Rex's direction, but this time, it fell short of any actual contact. "And it's proven effective. I suppose your loyalty to your men is to be commended. They seem to admire this. That's important to an effective commander."

Where is he going with this…?

Rex felt Jesse move closer, falling just short of standing right beside him.

For a moment, Krell simply studied him, and there wasn't anything Rex wouldn't have given to know what was going on in that twisted mind.

"All right, Captain," he said finally, "your opinion has been noted. Dismissed."

And just like that, it was over. For the time being.

Rex released the breath he was holding as Jesse's whispered voice sounded beside him.

"Are you—?"

And no, they would not be having that conversation.

Slamming his helmet back on in order to conceal any unchecked expressions that might flicker across his face, Rex snapped, "I'm fine." Then sighed heavily. Jesse did not deserve to be on the receiving end of his swirling emotions. "Thanks, by the way."

Jesse just shook his head, disbelief practically bleeding through his own helmet. "He hit you pretty hard with that thing."

And it was then that Rex realized how much of a violent blur the attack had been for him. "What thing?"

Jesse's reply was a hoarse whisper. "The lightsaber."

Rex blinked, banishing any tendrils of shock back down to the depths where he could deal with them later. Or never.

He'd just assumed it had been the general's fist that connected so roughly with his helmet. Not his…

Rex swallowed again.

"I think he almost complimented you." Fives' tone was deceptively calm, any terror hidden beneath a classic blanket of sarcasm, the slight tremble of his gloved hands being the only betrayal of his true feelings.

"Uh," Rex began, trying to wrap his head around everything that had just happened, "it's hard to tell."

"What the heck was that?" Hardcase's familiar tones plunged into the conversation. "General Skywalker and Commander Tano would never—"

"General Krell is not like them, all right?" Rex interjected. "And the sooner you all accept that, the easier things will be."

"Will they, really?" It was Fives' turn to voice his opinion, arms crossed now in what was either an argumentative stance or a preemptive position of defense.

"General Kenobi always lets Cody touch his lightsaber," Fives pressed on.

"That's just because he's constantly losing it," Rex said, though the justification was a weak one.

"So? There's no reason why—"

"Incoming!"

The plasma bomb exploded several feet from Rex and his twin blasters were out and firing before the smoke had cleared.

"We have to hold this position!" He shouted over the comm in his helmet to anyone who was listening.

We have to hold it. No matter how reckless, no matter how incredibly stupid. We have to hold this position!

But why? Why was General Krell being so reckless with their lives? What was his motive, his reason?

And why did Rex feel like his world might never be the same after this campaign?

With a shiver, he continued his defense against the Umbarans because orders were orders.

Because good soldiers followed orders.

And Rex was a good soldier.

At least, he hoped he was…

He had to be.