Being back on a cruiser was stressful to say the least.

Gone was the serenity of the Temple, Healer Joy's gentle smile and having everyone around her treading on eggshells. Now, Ahsoka had to deal with the loud clone troopers- and the even louder cruiser- without a fellow Jedi in sight.

She decided to leave Wolffe on the bridge and hide away in her quarters. It was better than being amongst the men who she didn't know very well. Lonely, anxious, and harbouring a headache the size of Coruscant from the anti-psychosis drug, Ahsoka was half-tempted to get in an escape pod and just float in space.

Agreeing to this mission was a mistake.

Sighing, Ahsoka stretched out her limbs, trying to relieve the sensation of being trapped. It wasn't much use. There was a ventilation shaft in her quarters, and the constant hissing was driving her up the wall. She felt sick to her stomach. At the Temple, she had regular mealtimes with Obi-Wan, and since she'd left, she hadn't had the appetite for anything on the cruiser.

She would probably regret that later, but the concept of eating a heavy meal felt impossible.

Her comm beside her bed beeped, and Ahsoka stuck out a hand from underneath her blanket to check the frequency. It was Padmé- again.

Ahsoka answered, knowing the Senator wouldn't hesitate from calling Anakin if she ignored her call for a third time. She tried to force some cheeriness into her choice, "Senator Amidala, how did things work out on Mon Cala?"

"Ahsoka, it's so good to hear from you!" She cringed away from the comm as Padmé's voice filled her room. "We got back this morning." Nice of Anakin to call. "There was a peaceful resolve, in the end, although we had our fair share of problems."

"I bet." Ahsoka said, rubbing her eye tiredly.

"How are things at your end?" Padmé carried on, clearly not getting the hint that Ahsoka wasn't in the mood for talking. "You weren't with Commander Wolffe when Master Yoda and I spoke to him."

"Hm." Of course, the Senator had noticed her absence. "I had to-"

Her attempt at a lie was cut off by the chiming of her door. Ahsoka snapped her head up, feeling her heart start to thump erratically in her chest. Who was behind her door? There was only a handful of people who knew she was coming on this mission, and why would they need her?

"Ahsoka? Everything alright?" Padmé asked, worry in her voice.

"It's fine, Senator. I have to go." Ahsoka turned off the comm and gripped her lightsabre as the door chime sounded again. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she called out, "Who is it?"

"Wolffe." She heard the person say gruffly. She frowned; it didn't sound like Master Plo's Commander. Or was she just overthinking it? All clones sounded similar, but she could usually tell them apart. Should she ask for their birth des or just open the door and- "You alright, 'Soka?"

It was Wolffe.

She opened the door with the Force, keeping her lightsabre in her hand- just in case.

The Commander was stood with his hands on his hips, cybernetic eye looking around the room, "Everything alright, kipper?"

"Fine, thank you." Ahsoka stood up, smoothing out her skirt and feeling stupid for even freaking out. Who would've been behind her door? Garnac? "Do you, uh, need me for anything, sir?"

Wolffe looked back at her. "Our ETA for Aleen is twenty-eight minutes. We should go down to the hanger and make sure the men are ready."

Make sure the men were ready- her responsibility. Right.

"Well, we better not keep them waiting." Ahsoka clipped her lightsabers to her belt- it was weird carrying them again. She smiled, trying to seem confident and collected like the Commander she used to be. "Lead the way."

Wolffe looked down at Ahsoka as they walked to the hanger. A frown fell on his lips when he compared the old enthusiastic Commander Tano to the closed-off woman beside him. Kenobi had given him a long lecture about her recent struggles, but Wolffe already knew that she was going through some osik from the rumours that went around the Coruscant barracks.

"Commander Tano ran straight into a Separatist camp on Scarif with Captain Rex over her shoulders!"

"She punched ARC trooper Fives in the jaw in 79s- I saw it with my own eyes!"

"Fox had to restrain and sedate her in the Senate Building! Apparently, she was running after an imaginary person."

"I heard she'd been stripped of her rank and is General Kenobi's Padawan now."

What did those Trandoshans do to her?

Usually, Ahsoka wanted to be amongst the clones; leading, training, joking around or even eating. Since she'd been onboard, she'd been cooped up in her quarters. Most of the men didn't even know she was there.

Maybe he should check in with her. Wolffe didn't want to fill out all the paperwork if she lashed out and someone got hurt.

"So, uh," Ahsoka jumped when he spoke before looking up at him, her eyes widening whilst the chevrons on her lekku darkened, "how have you, uh, been? Sir."

A soft smile graced her lips, but Wolffe could tell it was forced. "I'm not your superior on this mission, Commander."

Then, she turned back around and picked up her pace. Wolffe's frown hardened as he widened his strides to keep up with her. "You didn't answer my question, 'Soka."

"Hm." She replied, not even looking at him as she powered ahead. Usually, Koon's nickname worked on her, which told him that she must be quite out of sorts. "I'm fine, Wolffe, just dandy."

Such a liar.

Nobody would be just dandy after being reassigned, demoted, and diagnosed with a highly stigmatised mental health disorder.

A highly stigmatised mental health disorder in which probably eighty percent of the clone army could be diagnosed with- his men included.

He was a Commander, and Commanders were supposed to know when something wasn't right with one of their soldiers. Wolffe had a mental list of a handful of his men who needed pills to sleep without nightmares, and he had a separate list of all those who could often be found in the fresher before every mission, throwing up their guts.

He had learned to adapt to their strange rituals that were caused by trauma of one sort or another. It was one of things that came with fighting a war.

The Jedi could try and hide their emotions all they want, but they can't just stop themselves from being traumatised by something. Heck, even Koon had his moments, and he was on the Jedi Council. The Kaminoans had tried to breed clones so they were less susceptible to the symptoms that Ahsoka had been displaying, but that didn't mean they didn't suffer from the same thing.

Maybe telling her that would help.

"Have you heard of shell-shock?" He asked, keeping his voice low in case he startled her again. "Or war neurosis? Combat stress?"

Ahsoka blew out her cheeks with a huff, "Shell-shock," she frowned, "that's some ancient thing to do with bombs, right?"

Wolffe chuckled, "It isn't ancient, 'Soka. That thing you've been diagnosed with, Post-Trandoshan Stress-"

"Post-Traumatic."

"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder," Wolffe emphasised, "is the same as shell-shock or battlefield blues or whatever else you want to call it." She looked at him, frowning. "You're not the first person in the GAR to have it. You've just been officially diagnosed."

She stopped in her tracks, "Wolffe, I get that the war and all the fighting affects the men- Rex told me about it when I first became Anakin's Padawan. The difference between the men and I is that the clones bounce back quicker. They don't have hallucinations, nightmares, panic attacks-"

Wolffe held up a hand sternly, taking a step closer to her so he towered over her, "Spend one night in the barracks, Ahsoka, and you'll change your mind sharpish."

She dragged her hands down her face, obviously getting stressed out and Wolffe backed off slightly. "Clones can't get this disorder, Wolffe. You guys were trained to handle any amount of stress."

He raised an eyebrow, "You think I could handle being stuck in a deactivated escape pod- without my protective armour- whilst being hunted by droids with no means to defend myself?" He asked, referring to the Malevolence back at the start of the war.

Ahsoka opened her mouth but no words came out.

"Boost refuses to do evacuation drills. Sinker panics whenever we engage in space battle, and I- Commander Wolffe of the 104th Battalion's Wolfpack squadron- am haunted by those memories every time I close my eyes. You, Ahsoka Tano, are not alone, you're just the only one being helped."

He turned and paced forwards, inwardly scolding himself for being so open with her. Clones generally kept those types of problems to themselves. He knew about his men's issues, but he kept that information strictly private. There were rumours of some of the older clones getting court-martialled for cowardice or emotional weakness if they were caught talking about it.

He trusted Ahsoka- with his life- but he would never trust anyone more than himself when it came to the lives and wellbeing of his men.

Ahsoka recoiled like he had slapped her.

You, Ahsoka Tano, are not alone, you're just the only one being helped.

How did she even respond to that?

When Rex had told her about the men's battlefield blues after Scarif, he hadn't mentioned that those clones are still plagued by their trauma. They were a little down, got some time off, and came back cheerful as ever.

The Malevolence was two years ago, and Wolffe was still affected by it?

Maybe battlefield blues wasn't as temporary as she once thought.

How many clones across the galaxy were traumatised by their lives of war and violence? Probably all of them.

A sense of selfishness washed over Ahsoka, and it made her feel sick. The Council had practically abolished all of her responsibilities after her diagnosis, letting her stay in the safe Temple whilst her men fought for the Republic. She was supposed to protect her men, and she had spent the last two weeks drinking tea and meditating.

"What can I do?" She found herself asking as they entered the hanger. She tensed a little at the colossal volume in the room, and subconsciously moved closer to Wolffe, brushing her arm against his armoured one.

He doesn't pull away, only chuckling dryly, "This problem is a lot bigger than yourself, little 'Soka. My men can put up with the nightmares, and the ones who can't do their jobs have a special place they can go to be fixed."

"Kamino." She finished, looking up at him, "Reconditioning?"

Wolffe nodded, his lips pressed together tightly, "Most efficient option the Kaminoans have for the mentally defective."

Mentally defective, like her.

Obi-Wan had told her over and over that she wasn't crazy for being diagnosed with a mental illness, and she still doubted her sanity. How did the clones feel when they knew that the Kaminoans would recondition them for any sort of mental abnormality?

"We've detected some aftershock of the grounquakes on the surface, Commander." Admiral Ladisal's voice comes over Wolffe's commlink, making Ahsoka jump. "Proceed with caution."

"Yes, ma'am." Wolffe replied before lowering his comm and looking at Ahsoka. "You sure you're up for this?"

The men didn't have a choice. Wolffe didn't have a choice. Any refusal would probably result in a trip to Kamino. How was the Senate allowing this? Maybe a trip to Padmé's office was due when they got back to Coruscant- she had always cared about the clones.

Then again, Wolffe was right when he said this was a problem much larger than herself. She was still struggling with her own battle. How could she help others in this state?

Well, she could help the people on Aleen. That was something.

"Yes, sir." She smiled up at Wolffe, receiving a nod in return before they gathered the men to go down to the surface.

Maybe, when she got back to Coruscant, she could discuss the problem with Master Obi-Wan. He had always been good at giving her advice.

Ahsoka clenched her eyes closed as the gunship trembled. She kept telling herself that it was normal to experience some turbulence, and the pilot would tell them if they were under attack. This was a Republic planet for kriff's sake, but she couldn't shake the feelings of dread and panic.

Sensing a flashback starting to come on, Ahsoka reached out and explored the Force-signatures around her, just like Healer Joy told her to. The clones were mostly calm, although some harboured excitement as they were deployed. Ahsoka remembered her Master's men being the same.

She tried to feed off their emotions, allowing their serenity to wash away her fears. It worked to an extent, but then she felt Sinker and Boost.

Her head snapped up to the clones stood on the other side of Wolffe. They were talking to the Commander, laughing about the Aleena having a weird language that sounded like gibberish.

Their Force-signatures were anything but relaxed.

Panic swirled around the original members of the Wolfpack, such a familiar feeling that Ahsoka almost found it comforting. She extended into their minds gently, trying to figure out what exactly was causing this fear and why they weren't outwardly portraying their emotions.

The power grid is burned out. We've no engine, communications or... or life support recharge.

So, we'll just sit here and hold our breath.

Someone will come looking for us, right?

Let's get the power restored so we are here to be found.

"Ahsoka."

She blinked up at Wolffe, seeing his helmet a little blurry. Quickly, she swiped at her eyes and looked back at him, "Wolffe."

"You good?" She couldn't see his face, but she assumed he was frowning.

"Yeah, I'm good." She wasn't. She was pretty sure she had just had a flashback to a memory that wasn't even hers. Was it one of theirs? It had to be.

It felt just as real and terrifying as her ones about the Trandoshans.

She could tell that Wolffe didn't really believe her, but he let it go. He wasn't much of a conversationalist. In fact, their talk on the cruiser had probably given him a sore throat. A pain went through Ahsoka's chest from the memories of chatting to Anakin endlessly whilst on missions.

Hopefully, she would be able to have a full conversation with her true Master once she got back to the Temple- if those pills worked. He might be able to give her some insight on how the clones coped with the trauma they endured- he was even closer with the men than Obi-Wan.

She flanked Wolffe as they walked off the gunship once on the surface, trying to mirror his confident posture and meaningful strides. It had been a while since she had to feign strength.

They stopped in front of a group of Aleena. Ahsoka smiled down at them; they were quite cute. Not as cute as Beady though. She missed her little friend and couldn't help but send a quick message to Obi-Wan, don't forget to feed Beady, Master.

She felt him laugh at her through the Force, he's quite safe under my care, Ahsoka, but I'm currently listening to Anakin rant about pod racing statistics.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes, how typical.

He chuckled back at her, focus on your mission now, Padawan.

Wolffe removed his helmet as the Aleena in charge started to babble to them. The two Commanders exchanged a wry look.

"Okay," Wolffe sighed when the Aleena finally stopped talking, "who packed the translator droid?"

"Hello! Hello!" Ahsoka spun at the sound of C-3PO's voice, "I'm here, Commander."

The shiny service droid walked over, followed by none other than R2-D2. Ahsoka grinned down at Anakin's astromech, placing a hand on his dome when he whirred at her. "I missed you too, Artooie."

"Padawan Tano's here! Oh my!" C-3PO exclaimed, "I overheard Master Ani say that you were still recovering from a ghastly illness at the Temple. My! It's good to see you!"

"Likewise, C-3PO." Ahsoka bowed out of courtesy before noticing the annoyed look that Wolffe was wearing. "Uh, can you translate for us, please?"

"Of course!" Like that, C-3PO turned to the Aleena, "Hiro, de treepo pan Repabolic..."

Ahsoka droned out as the droid finished and the Aleena started to speak. She crouched beside R2-D2, keeping her voice low. "Did Anakin send you to keep an eye on me?" He immediately started beeping in offense, "Don't lie to me, Artooie." With a depressed whir, he admitted the truth.

Ahsoka sighed, "I know he means well. It's okay."

She stood up as Wolffe asked C-3PO, "Uh, did you get that?"

"Certainly, I did." C-3PO replied with a hint of attitude. The amount of times he'd told her that he was familiar with over six million forms of communication. "Commander Wolffe, you have the honour of meeting King Manchucho. His message, simply put, is: 'Welcome to our disaster. Glad you could come.'"

The Aleena King turned back to his people, telling them something whilst Ahsoka and Wolffe exchanged a humoured look. Well, Ahsoka found it funny; Wolffe just wore his signature dry expression. He was like the clone version of Master Windu.

"'They will save us and feed our stomach.'" C-3PO carried on translating, "'The gods below will know peace once more.'"

Ahsoka caught Wolffe roll his eyes, and she felt like doing the same. The Aleena cheered from their feet, all shouting and raising their little fists in the air. She had to admit, the welcoming party was certainly more friendly than some of the other planets she had gone to.

A loud rumble echoed across the landscape and then the floor started shifting beneath their feet. Ahsoka suppressed a yelp and grabbed Wolffe's arm as the trembling ground nearly made her fall over.

Wolffe adjusted to her position, grabbing hold of her wrist whilst lifting his commlink. "Commander, we're experiencing some settling from the original event. It's to be expected."

"An aftershock, everyone," Wolffe said, completely unfazed, "just like Admiral Ladisal said on the cruiser." He directed the second part at Ahsoka, probably in an attempt to calm her.

She nervously swallowed as C-3PO started to calm the locals. A few seconds later, the trembles stopped, and she released Wolffe, even though her knees were shaking like crazy. She tried to take deep breaths to calm her racing heart as she felt sweat prick on the back of her neck.

This was fine- everything was alright.

The Aleena were clapping C-3PO for stopping the aftershocks and Ahsoka couldn't help but smile. The locals were so innocent and naïve to the true horrors of the galaxy. She wished she could live a care-free life like them- even though their village was nothing but rubble.

The Republic was going to help them. She was going to help them. Something about the idea of restoring peace and order on Aleen made her feel warm inside.

"Trooper squads," Wolffe called to his men, making Ahsoka jump, "scan for unstable ground. Mark unsafe areas."

The Wolfpack clones nodded and started to fan out as Wolffe continued to give out orders. "Let's get these cans unloaded."

Ahsoka chewed her lip, "What should I do, Wolffe?"

He turned to her, raising a brow at her sudden shyness. Ever since Wasskah, Ahsoka had been hesitant to dish out orders to her men over fears about getting them hurt- especially after what happened to Rex.

She'd spent the last two weeks doing whatever Obi-Wan or Healer Joy told her to do.

"With me." Wolffe said after a few moments, walking away with C-3PO and the Aleena a few steps behind him.