Disclaimer: I don't own "Star wars: The clone wars", neither any of its characters. I make no profit with this story.


This was wrong. It wasn't supposed to happen. She promised Kalifa to keep them save, yet here they were, lying on the ground beaten, with five Trandoshians holding them at gunpoint. Them along with the Wookie Chewbacca. Yet another victim of her failure as a leader. If it wasn't for her appeal, he'd be save in the hideout trying to get the bloody communicator working. Instead of joining them on this suicide run. The one she failed to prevent.

Primal rage had Ahsoka's blood boiling as the Trandoshian leader was gloating about his victory and how he would enjoy having their heads on his wall.

NO! This was not how she, Ahsoka Tano, Padawan of the chosen one, was going to die. Not here, on this nameless planet, not at the hands of those beasts. She would not fail Kalifa, the Jedi order, the Republic, and least of all her master like this.

A savage growl emitting from her throat, born of the innermost predator every Togruta held inside its nature, the padawan jumped back on her feet while force pushing the lizard towering over her back. The adrenaline pumping through her veins didn't even made her feel how the shot the affected Trandoshian managed to fire melted a small hole in her left montral(1), barely missing the flesh underneath.

With all her anger focusing on Kalifas killer, the vile lizard grinning smugly at her resistance from his balcony, her companions completely slipped the Togrutas mind as she used the force to jump as high as she could, intending to tear that smirk right out of its face.

Her jump didn't make it high enough and she smashed against the wall of the flying fortress. But despite an aching chest, she managed to grab a hold in the slot between two metal plates of the wall when she slipped back to the ground. Down below the sound of a renewed struggle broke out. Fists meeting flesh and blasters being fired. One at her apparently, as she felt the ungodly heat of a laser blast hit her left hand. Not having the time to access the damage, she pushed herself up with her arms as strongly as possible, with the force propelling her into the air yet again. This time she made it and landed right in front of the Leader, whose smirk quickly faded after he saw the look in the ferocious Togrutas eyes. In his long live as a hunter he'd seen that look many times. In the eyes of a wild animal pushed into a corner and about to lunge.

Instead of a lunge, he got a force blast straight to the face as Ahsoka thrust both her arms forward and hurled him through the door to his private quarters.

Winded from the vast use of the force, as well as two days being on the run and with little to eat, the padawan needed a moment to collect herself. When she heard one of the others, perhaps Jinx, cry out in pain, along with Chewbaccas rage filled roar, she briefly considered going back down to help them. But no. If she turned back now, they'd still be outnumbered and that damn leader would simply comfortably shoot them from his balcony. No, he needed to go down. He needed to pay for organizing this, pay for Kalifas death. And the Jedi code be damned! This was him or them.

Determined she charged into the room. Only to come to a sudden stop when she found the Trandoshian nowhere in sight. Instead she was greeted with the sight of the skulls and pelts from dozens of different species hanging on the wall, their hollow eyes all seemed fixed on her, mouth hanging open in a silent scream of a never-ending death cry.

She felt sick in her stomach. This was wrong. Her own people, the Togruta, were infamous hunters themselves who liked to show off their skills with trophies of slain beasts. But they only did it out of necessity. The meat of a killed animal was more worthy than the skull, no matter how good it looked. It was still a part of the natural cycle of eating and being eaten, hence why Togruta usually didn't hunt other intelligent species. Unless…. She didn't know awfully much about Tradoshian culture. Would they really devour her after… The thought almost made her throw up, but she had been on enough battlefields already to let that happen.

However, the Trandoshian she was after used her moment of distraction to come out of his hiding spot in the shadows and attack her from behind. Fortunately her excellent togruta hearing made pick up his footsteps, giving her enough time to quickly turn around and lean out of the way of his axe swipe. Immediately she grabbed his arm, holding it in place for a kick to his elbow.

With most other humanoid species that would have broken the bone. The reptile hide of her adversary however proved too strong. The backhand Ahsoka received in retaliation on the other hand had her flying into the next wall. With a victorious growl, the Trandoshian set after her, raising his axe in preparation for a decapitation. Fueling her own movements with the force, the padawan managed to avoid it through somersaulting over the lizard and landing behind him.

With a kick to the backside of his knee she managed to bring him to her eyelevel, and while whirling around to face him she smashed her fist against the side of his head. While the impact on his thick scales bloodied her knuckles, it temporarily dazed him. Her rage boiling up again, Ahsoka sank her fangs(2) deep into his right arm and ripped out a small chunk of scales and flesh, causing the Trandoshian to drop his weapon.

As a negative side effect, the burning sensation also immediately brought him out of his daze. With a bloodlust unlike anything he ever experienced before, he threw himself at the Togruta, taking her down and pinning her arms to the floor.

In another situation the sight of a vicious lizard towering over her, roaring with his hot breath hitting her face, may have frightened Ahsoka. Now, after everything she had been through in the last days, all she felt was a savage, justified and natural rage. Spitting the meat she'd ripped out of his arm in his face, she managed to kick him off herself and stand up. When the Trandoshian charged at her again, madly swingingg at her body with his deadly claws, for a while she managed to either avoid or block his attacks. In the end tough, her body was worn out from exhaustion and the lizard was way stronger than her, his scaled arms impacting on hers making her whole body ache. Finally he broke through her defenses and his claws left three bloody gashes in her right arm. Crying out in pain, she couldn't stop him from gripping her throat and forcefully slamming her body on a nearby table. Keeping her pinned down while cutting of her air, not even bothering to acknowledge her panicked kicks against his sides, his free handpicked up a skinning knife that laid on said table.

"You murdered my son!" He snarled while raising the knife above his head. "For that, I will make your death as long as possible." And he bought the blade down, aiming for where Ahsokas head was connected to her lekkus(3).


This is a damn joke, Ahsoka thought angrily as she grabbed the knife holding arm and tried pushing it back. That monster stole countless innocent people to hunt them down like animals and now that one of them dared to defend herself, he proclaimed HER to be the murderer! While she had had Jedi code related reservations about killing him before, that washed them away.

While throwing herself around and struggling as hard as she could (albeit futile), she caught a glimpse of the Trandoshians axe lying on the floor where he dropped it. With strength born out of desperation and fury, she removed one of her hands from the scaled arm holding the knife and reached for the axe. Her other arm barely able to stand against the reptilian hunters superior strength, the knife coming nearer her skin inch by inch. Despite the fear of imminent death or torture, she managed to concentrate enough to grab the axe with the force and let it fly into her hand. With a roar, silenced by the claw around her throat, she thrust its blade into the shoulder of the arm holding the knife. Her captor grunted, but only increased the pressure on his knife, as well as on her throat.

Again and again Ahsoka smashed the axe into the Trandoshians shoulder, spraying his blood on the floor while hacking away scales and bones. Meanwhile black dots began to cloud her vision, the lack of oxygen burning in her lungs and making her dizzy. Still she glared right into the lizards eyes, both trapped in a staring contest with nobody willing to yield. As her vision got darker and darker, the knife reached her skin and she felt blood running down the side of her face. Still her arm kept hacking at his shoulder like the last spasm of a dying body.

And when she was near the edge of unconsciousness, her enemy dropped the knife, his arm dropping as well. She seemed to have severed a nerve. Relieved her aching hand dropped the axe.

The small victory giving her a second wind (and the fact that the pain had made the lizard loosen his grip around her throat also helping), she planted her feet on her captors chest and pushed him away. After taking a deep breath, the fresh air feeling like nectar in her burning throat, she made a roll backwards off the table, bringing it between her and the wounded reptile.

The very same reptile who had just snatched a rifle from somewhere and was aiming it at the padawan.

Ahsoka spread her arms like she was opening a curtain. Lifting the Trandoshian in the air and stretching his arms to the side, making him resemble a cross. He roared in outrage and hate, loudly proclaiming her death and what he'd do to her and her friends once he got to her.

Her eyes narrowed. She thought about the other captives she had seen being mowed down by blaster fire when she was brought to this place. About the younglings who had lived here for so long, forced to abandon their Jedi heritage. About Jinx, O-mer and Chewbacca, who might be dead at this point. About Kalifa, who died much too soon, in her very arms.

Her mind filled with hatred and vengeance, she made the force pull. Putting all her angry emotions inside of it. She could hear the lizards bones crack as she commanded the force to grab hold of his arms and tug as hard as possible. The bloody holes in his arms where she had bitten him and mutilated his shoulder began to grow, accompanied by the sick, wet sound of skin being ripped apart. Then, the agonized scream of the Trandoshian overbearing all else, his right forearm was parted from the body near the elbow, while his entre left arm, accompanied by a small part of the shoulder was ripped of completely. Black blood spraying to all sides, the abused body fell down like a puppet with cut strings.


Drained, Ahsoka sank to her knees, taking frantic breaths. First she was practically bathing in relief, joy about her victory washing over her. Then she began to tremble as realization hit her. Tasting Trandoshian blood on her teeth, as well as watching small drops of her own drop to the floor, she noticed the burning sensation on her left hand. Afraid of what she might find, she held it in front of her face, only ot discover that the shot which hit her while she was hanging on the wall had blown of her baby finger.

Kneeling over, she vomited up what little she had in her stomach. After she was sure that nothing more could be gagged out, she took a frightened peek at the body of her victim. His eyes were closed and the "disarmed" body was a stiff as a corpse.

She felt like barfing again, hot tears streaming down her cheeks and mixing with her blood on the floor. She killed him. Not just killed him, slaughtered him. This wasn't killing in self defense or for the defense of others like she did before. This was a murder born of hatred. The very thing she had warned Kalifa about. By the force, she had failed them all still. Not only did she lead them to their deaths, she betrayed the very principles she herself preached. What would her master think? What would…

Her dark thoughts were interrupted when she became aware of the blaster fire outside. Though it hurt to stand up, only adrenaline and the will of the force keeping her up, she snatched the bloodied axe and knife lying on the floor and raced out of the room, on the balcony. There she beheld a gruesome sight.

The lower balcony of the flying fortress was decorated with corpses. Two were Trandoshian, but the other two… There was Jinx, his body filled with the holes made by blaster shots. O-mers body looked like a part of his side had been ripped out by a Trandoshians maw, but what killed him was the blaster shot between the eyes. Aside from three Trandoshians, Only Chewbacca was left standing. Already bleeding from numerous wounds, he was fighting all three lizards in close combat and obviously loosing due to numbers.

Desperately shouting "NO!" Ahsoka leaped from the balcony and landed close to the struggle. With a wild charge she managed to get past the lizards and to the wookies side, delivering a few slices to their reptilian hides on the way. The unexpected attack made the Trandoshians back up.

Positioning herself next to Chewbacca, the two of them backed away to the railing of the balcony, Ahsoka holding the knife in front of her protectively with her left, pointing downwards, the axe raised high with her right.

"You recognice these weapons?" she shouted at the three hunters, inwardly panicking at the evident desperation in her voice. "Then you must realize that your leader is dead. I skinned his hide and mounted his head on his own wall. Unless you wish to join him, I suggest you leave." It might not have been the best bluff, but she was sure her master would approve.

Unfortunately the Trandoshians didn't buy it. One of them yelled: "Kill the whelp!" and they whipped out their blaster.

Closing her eyes in a short moment of resignation, Ahsoka was just about to tell Chewbacca that she was sorry. Before she could though, she heard him growl: "It was an honor knowing you. May you life as long as the trees of my home world."

With those worlds, he stepped in front of Ahsoka, with his back to the Trandoshian. Immediately blaster fire hit his body and made him stagger.

Ahsoka screamed in shock and wanted to charge at them, but Chewbaccas strong hands grabbed her and effortlessly lifted her above his head. Taking slow steps to the edge of the balcony while blaster shoot after blaster shot impacted in his body, he shouted: "Life! Life and escape. Send Mallatobuck(4) my love."

Then, while she was screaming in protest, pleading with him to save himself, Ahsoka was thrown over the railing. Falling through the air, she yelled Chewbaccas name, seeing his shape disappear from the railing. Heard his defiant battle roar resound one more time before it went silent, leaving only the disturbing orchestra of repeatedly fired blasters.

When Ahsokas body hit the ocean, she embraced the water swallowing her.


AN:
I am sure to get SO much hate for killing off Chewbacca. Please don't get me wrong. I love Chewie, he was my first favorite Star Wars character and the wookies are still my favorite Star Wars species. Unfortunately, this story wouldn't work the way I intended with Ahsoka having company.

Anyway. This story will have no giant battles and no light saber fights (Perhaps later, but seriously, WAY later). This story is supposed to be about what terrible things would happen if one of those awfully convenient and perfectly timed rescues caused by perfectly timed conveniences (in this case the communicator working despite getting fried) cartoons are famous for would NOT occur. And about what living alone in the wilderness, hunted by animal and men/alien alike, desperately trying to survive can do to a person's sanity, especially if that person is a member of a species known for their predatory nature. And since Ahsoka doesn't have a lightsaber no more, her fights will usually turn out bloody, since nothing cauterizes the wounds she inflicts.

By the way, that's one of my favorite aspects of "The clone wars", and makes the finale of season three my favorite episodes, even topping "The Deserter". That the Jedi from time to time lose their lightsabers. In the original trilogy, people almost never used them, but when they did, it meant business. In the prequels, lightsaber combat looked awesome, but somehow for me it took the tension away, making the Jedi unstoppable droid shredders. Because of that my favorite moment from episode two is where they are in the arena and have to survive without lightsabers. And it is also the reason why my fanfic will lack them most of the time.

So, if you had fun reading this and can forgive the gore, please review (especially since I am also working on other stories and am yet undecided which one to give the most focus).


(1) According to wookiepedia, that's what the horn like pointy things on togrutas heads are called.

(2) Though I can't remember ever seeing them in the cartoon, the comics (and wookiepedia) make it clear that Togruta have a vampire like set of teeth.

(3) According to wookiepedia, that's the name of the "head-tails" of Togruta and Twi'lek

(4) Chewbaccas wife. Yeah, I was surprised as well when I found out he had one.