Episode One: Hostage Situation

Little bit of history: Fei Tahn is a character I created for the Star wars universe. She is royalty of the Anotheri race, a people of a mostly ocean world. I am not so creative that I would create an exact science for her species, but her people have an aquatic from. Yes. Mermaids. What reasoning I did put into it was A) Water enters the lungs and triggers a chemical release, which in turn triggers the transformation. Legs fuse, fins grow. Bam. Mermaid. B) Air enters lungs and triggers a chemical release. Triggers the counter-transformation, and there you go. Legs.

Chapter one: It's a Trap

"General Kenobi," Rex called to Obi-Wan from the communications room. "We have an incoming transmission from the surface of planet Jarelle."

"Very good, Rex," Obi-Wan said. "It's probably Fei with a battle report."

Rex tapped a button and their end of the communications line opened, allowing Fei's holographic form to manifest itself with Ahsoka standing near behind her. The Jedi master's narrow frame leaned heavily on her oaken cane, favoring her right leg. The pale pink scars peaking above her utility belt, a constant reminder of her run in with Grievous that nearly cost her her left leg. Her thin tail flicked back and forth behind her a few times as she swept her long silver hair away from her pale face.

"General Tahn," Rex saluted.

"Thank you Rex," Fei said, her sharp, pointed ears twitching at the sound of his voice, pleased. "At ease."

"Fei. Good news, I hope?" Obi-Wan asked, but noticed a quick flash of doubt and hesitation cross her pale lavender eyes.

"Yes, Master Kenobi," Ahsoka spoke up from behind Fei. She came to stand next to the young Jedi master, a proud inch taller. "It was an easy victory," she said.

"And that's what worries me," Fei said. "The droid army was small in number and in strength. There was no organization or formation whatsoever, and General Grievous is nowhere to be seen… It was all too easy. Too quick."

"Come on, Fei!" Anakin Skywalker exclaimed as he strutted into the room. "I'm pretty sure it's just because your fleet is just that good, even without you main man Rex here," he said, patting said clone's shoulder. "Grievous probably saw you coming and ran back to Dooku with his tail in between his legs like the coward he is."

"Exactly!" Ahsoka exclaimed. "That's what I said."

"Perhaps you are right," Fei said. "Regardless, the battle is over. Jarelle is won and we will meet up with you shortly."

"Very good," Obi-Wan said before the transmission ended.

Fei handed the com link off to a storm trooper and turned to walk away, deep in thought.

"Master Tahn?" Ahsoka asked, running to her side. "You still seem concerned."

"Yes, Ahsoka, but I do not know why…" she answered. "I simply can't seem to shake this feeling that something is not right…"

"Master, the battle is won, like you said," Ahsoka said, trying to reassure the Jedi knight. "We'll meet up with Master Kenobi and Master Skywalker and I'm sure you'll feel batter."

"Perhaps…," Fei said. "Perhaps you're right… Alright troops!" she shouted. "Pack up and load up! We're headed back to the cruiser!" There was a uniform salute and the troopers quickly rushed to follow her orders.

"You did well today padawan," Fei complimented as she limped towards her squadron's gunship.

"Thank you master," Ahsoka said, running to her own squad.

The thirteen gunships on the surface were soon loaded up and took off into the atmosphere, leaving the young, republic planet happy, proud and free from separatist rule.

As her ship neared the edge of the atmosphere, Fei's feeling of unease grew to the point of worry.

"General?" her captain asked in concern, noticing Fei's agitated demeanor. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Sal," Fei told him. "But I feel… anxious…"

The gunships cleared the atmosphere and were quickly approaching their cruiser, positioned near Jarelle's moon, Fei's ship in the lead. All was silent.

"General!" the pilot suddenly shouted from the cockpit.

"What is it, Jet?" Fei asked.

"Our cruiser!... It's not here!"

"What do you mean?!" Sal asked in shock.

"It's gone!" Jet shouted

"Is there any debris?" Fei asked.

"I don't… Yes! Yes there's debris! Our cruiser has been destroyed!"

"Turn around!" Fei ordered. "Retreat back to the surface. The pilot turned the ship around as Fei contacted the rest of her fleet. "Everyone, turn back! Return to Jarelle! Our cruiser has been destroyed!"

Two separatist cruisers suddenly appeared from behind Jarelles's small moon, emerging from the darkness of its shadow. "We've been played," Fei realized. "It's a trap."

"We don't have but a few fighters!" Sal said. "The rest were all destroyed with the cruiser. We're defenseless!"

An army of separatist drone fighters were released from the cruisers and rushed towards the republic forces. The few fighters that Fei's fleet had took up the rear to defend as the fleet retreated back to the planet.

"We can't out run them and we can't win if we confront them," Fei said. "…but we have to try… Sal!" she called. "Try to contact Obi-Wan. Let him know the situation and request backup." A red laser beam shot past the gunship. The enemy fighters were getting closer.

"Yes sir!" he said. He opened his communications line and attempted to contact their fleet in the neighboring system, but couldn't reach. "I can't get through. They must be blocking our transmissions."

"Very well," she said. She opened the communications link with her fleet. "…Men, we are out gunned, outnumbered and alone. We can't simply outrun them… gunships T-02 through T-06 and all fighters with me. We are going to do our best to hold off the enemy to allow the rest of the fleet to reach Jarelle." Sal eased up on the thrusters, slowing the ship. The rest of her fleet shot past her as Fei's gunship fell back to the rear, alongside the fighters and the rest of her suicide squad "Unfortunately, I do not see our victory at the end of this battle, but we will take down as many clankers as we can before this battle's end." An explosion shook her ship as a nearby gunner was destroyed by the separatist canons, but Fei continued. "The rest of the fleet. You MUST reach Jarelle and contact General Kenobi's fleet. Commander Tano is you commanding officer as of now. Good luck soldiers," she ended. "Turn this ship around, Jet," Fei ordered, leading her attack.

"Yes sir," Jet responded. "It's been an honor to serve you."

"Yes," Fei said. "And it has been an honor to fight alongside you."

She took a deep breath, turning to look at her men when her wrist com suddenly started blinking. "Ahsoka," she answered.

"Master!" Ahsoka exclaimed. "What are you doing? If there's any ship that should be heading back to the planet, it's yours! Not mine!"

"Padawan," Fei said calmly. "I cannot ask my men to do something that I cannot do myself. I have too much pride," she said, a sad smile in her voice. "It can be a bit of an issue sometimes, b-"

"Master-" Ahsoka tried to interrupt.

"Ahsoka," Fei said in a stern voice. "This entire system is depending on us for their lives. Their freedom. Even if the battle is lost for me, Obi-Wan must be made aware of the situation." Another explosion lit up the interior of the gunship as another canon blast hit its mark. "Obi-Wan can win this battle, but only if he knows to come here. Ahsoka, that is why you must go back. I can buy you some extra time, but it's up to you."

"But master-" Ahsoka tried to plead, but the short range com link soon fizzled out as their ships flew too far apart.

"May the Force be with you," Fei said.

"And also with you," Ahsoka responded, even though she could not hear the words spoken. "Alright men! You heard her!" she said loudly as the gunships sped down to Jarelle.

Fei had her eyes closed in meditation. Her brow was relaxed and she leaned heavily upon her cane. The enemy fighters were almost upon them. Her own fighters returned fire.

"Incoming transmission, sir," Sal said, interrupting Fei's thought.

"From who?" she asked.

"I don't know, but not one of us."

Fei took the com link and opened her end of communication. "Grievous," she said with distain upon seeing the tall android's hologram.

"Fei Tahn," Grievous responded in his gravelly metallic voice. "I am calling to request your unconditional surrender."

"Oh really?… hmm, your offer is tempting, and it might be foolish to refuse, but I will not surrender my men to a fate worse than death aboard your ship and I will not surrender this system to your tyranny," Fei told him. "But that's just me… What about my men? Your opinions matter greatly to me," she addressed her troops turning to face them.

"I'm with you all the way, sir," Sal said.

"Aye," Jet agreed, along with several others.

"No surrender!" another shouted, quickly echoed by his brothers.

"I'm terribly sorry Grievous, but there you have it."

"Hmm, well I must say I'm disappointed. I only contacted you in hopes that you would save both your fleet and mine the trouble and agreed to my terms, because I plan to take you in either way," Grievous growled. "For it seems I am in need of a bargaining chip, and you, General Tahn, will do very nicely." Fei shuttered, disturbed by his words. "Fire up the canons!" he shouted to his droids.

"Ready for evasive maneuvers," Fei told her clones.

"There is nothing you can do. You are mine!" Grievous said. "FIRE!"

A wave of blue energy was emitted from the enemy ship and expanded out into space at an alarming rate.

"What is that?!" a clone shouted.

Fei immediately opened up her com link and contacted her fleet. "Turn around!" she shouted. "I don't know what that is, but we're gonna get out of its way!" another explosion shook her ship from enemy fire as the fleet turned to escape the rapidly approaching blast. The light emanating from the wave grew more and more intense until even the inside of the cabin and cockpit was only blinding white light. The silence was deafening as the wave passed through the ship.

The lights went out. The engine shut down. All was quiet. All was dark.

"Jet! Turn on the auxiliary power," Sal ordered.

"I can't, sir," Jet said. "It's out too."

"That was an EMP blast," Fei said, her eyes finally adjusting to the dim starlight trickling in through the narrow windows. "Knocked out all electrical systems. We are completely immobilized. Completely defenseless."

"What do we do?" Sal asked.

"There's nothing we can do right now," Fei answered. "There's no escape pod, our guns are down, and the oxygen is only going to last so long. The only escape I see is aboard the separatists ships."

The inside of the cabin was quiet. Nobody spoke as they drifted in space, but it wasn't long before the separatist ships were nearly on top of them.

"…Um, General?" the pilot questioned. "They're flying right over us."

"They must be going to retrieve the gunships closest to the planet. The ones closest to aid," Fei told him. "It makes sense. He doesn't know which ship I'm on… Reckless bastard."

Sure enough, the cruisers started with the ships nearest to the planet and pulled them aboard.

They waited. It seemed like an eternity. The anticipation and unrest in the air made every minute feel like an hour.

"Listen to me," Fei said, breaking the silence and grabbing the attention of her troops. "I don't know what we will be faced with when we are taken aboard, but I need you to trust my judgement. I want all of you to have your weapons ready, but I want you to wait for my order. If I see there's a chance to escape, I will signal you when we get onboard. However, I don't see much hope. We will be the last onboard, so the best chances of escape will probably already have passed. They will be holding the rest of your brothers, as well as commander Tano hostage. I fear there will be nothing we can do without risking their lives." She paused for a moment in thought. "…Grievous said he needed a 'bargaining chip'… I don't know my feelings on that. It implies that he wants us alive; although, that might not be such a good thing."

Finally, the separatist ships came to hover over them and the smaller gunship was pulled towards the cruiser's flight deck. "A tracter beam," Jet commented. It was only a minute or two before Fei's gunship was swallowed up by the giant. As the heavy deck doors slid shut behind them, Fei sensed that escape was not an option. Droids poured on to the flight deck and soon the ship was completely surrounded.

"I don't suggest an escape. It would be suicidal," Fei told her men. "Surrender would be our best chance of staying alive. There would at least be a chance of rescue or escape later." She turned sharply towards the windows as a presence made itself known to Fei as the sliding blast door slid open on the far side of the deck and Grievous stepped through. He was accompanied by two familiar faces. The vile, blue face of Cad Bane and the defiant face of Anakin's padawan. She walked, handcuffed, in between Grievous and Bane, with Bane's pistol pressed into her back. "And it seems they've brought even more leverage than their already overwhelming gun power," Fei said with a scoff.

"Drop open your doors, exit the ship with your hands up and hand over your weapons or the padawan dies," Grievous shouted.

Fei sighed in frustration, turning her head from the narrow window, her eyes closed in shame under a furrowed brow. "I wish there was more I could have done… I wish there was something I could do…" she apologized to her men.

"General," Sal said. "None of this is your fault."

"No, but it's my responsibility," she said. "Disarm your weapons. We will agree to his terms of surrender." She lowered the hanger doors and led her men slowly off the ship with her arms raised in defeat. As they stepped out, one of the first things Fei noticed besides several of her damaged gunships were dark blaster marks on the walls and ceiling, as well as quite a few scrapped droids, and a few unsettling bloodstains. "It looks like someone's already tried to fight back."

"Good," Grievous purred. "Did I not say I would have you Tahn?" he called to her. She didn't answer.

She and her troops soon had their hands cuffed behind their backs and were led through the army of droids to stand before General Grievous. "Do you have her lightsabers?" Grievous asked the droid leading them. The droid handed the pair of sabers to the reptilian android, bowing low before him with its arms stretched out in offering. "Very good," Grievous said, taking the saber hilts and snapping them to his hips. "Put them with the rest," Grievous ordered, shoving Ahsoka in with the clones. "I'll meet you there shortly. I have a few more preparations to complete."

Fei and her squadron were led at gunpoint to the dungeons of the separatist cruiser. The only sounds were of the droids metal feet hitting the ground with every step. The lead droid halted at a steel door and turned to face the prisoners. "Secure them," it said to its fellow escorts. Ahsoka, Fei and the troops were shoved into the large cell. The rest of Fei's fleet were handcuffed along the wall, but Fei looked around, confused.

"Wait," she said, pausing as she looked around. "Where are the rest of us? How many ships went down in the fire fight? Four? Five? But we are less than half what we started with… Almost only a quarter of our army on Jarelle."

"We lost five ships, sir," said a trooper named Crop. "But a few squadrons rebelled… they were all killed… We lost a lot of men."

A pained look of regret and sorrow flashed across her eyes; however, her moment to grieve was cut short as the thick doors slid open and Grievous stalked in. He was followed by Cad Bane, along with a medical droid and a hologram transmission droid.

"Secure the clones to the walls," Grievous ordered. He strode up to the young Jedi master, towering over her, using his height to intimidate the small Jedi. She stared up at him, unfazed. He growled as he grabbed Fei roughly by the arm and threw her to the ground.

"Hey!" Ahsoka shouted, struggling against her bonds. Bane interfered, grabbing Ahsoka around the neck and pressed his blaster to her temple.

"Cool your jets, Jedi," he growled into her ear.

"Droid!" Grievous shouted to his transmission droid. "Contact the republic fleet in the Kaleamic system. I believe it to be Kenobi and Skywalker's forces," Grievous said, a smile hidden in his voice as he secretly knew he would enjoy the pain on Kenobi's face, as well as Tahn's. The only look Grievous expected to see on Skywalker's face would be rage. How he looked forward to it. "I wish to strike a bargain."

Alright, well, this is the first fic I've posted, so your feedback would be greatly appreciated. What am I doing right? What am I doing wrong? Questions? Comments? Concerns? There's more on the way! Thank you!

Also, I've created an Instagram account for the concept art behind my characters. The address is in my profile:) Feel free to check it out!