"Coming out of hyperspace, General!" Yelled an officer. Obi-Wan stood at the viewing port, Admiral Yularen stood off to the side. They looked outside intently, waiting for whatever would show itself once they exited the aura of intergalactic flight. They would need to be quick if they found Separatist cruisers or the like orbiting the planet.
The hum of the Resolute's engines gave way to endless twinkling stars and the bright dust ball that is Jakku. But oddly enough, that's all they saw. Another officer informed them the scanners showed up negative. As far as they could tell, they were the only ones orbiting the planet.
Obi-Wan was relived that they wouldn't be encountering any resistance in space, but that didn't inherently mean the Separatists aren't involved. For all he knew, there could be a hidden outpost there, creating any number of abominations. It's been done before, Obi-Wan thought, remembering the events on the Naboo involving a certain mad scientist and the re-creation of the Blue Shadow Virus. But why would the Separatists try to conceal such any outpost on an near-abandoned desert like Jakku? The only way to get any answers was to go down there and see for themselves. That was Anakin's job.
But something else bothered him. Something felt off in the Force. It felt as if there was an absence of...something. Obi-Wan couldn't make out what exactly, but he knew it the source of it was planet-side. Whatever they were here to find was most likely the source of the disturbance.
Raising his com-link, Obi-Wan contacted his former apprentice. "Anakin, come in."
"I'm here, Master. What'd you find?" he asked. He already knew they arrived at Jakku. Even though he wasn't there to see it, he could sense the Resolute coming out of hyperspace. Heck, everyone on board could. The ship's massive hyperdrive isn't exactly quiet. Anakin just put two-and-two together.
"That's just it, Anakin. We didn't find anything. We're all alone out here." Obi-Wan said with a hint of curiosity.
"What?! That doesn't make any sense!" Anakin exclaimed. After a moment, his tone became much more serious. "Do...do you think the Separatists aren't involved after all?"
This was concerning. What if the reports were accurate? What if there are, in fact, terrible creatures down there?
"I don't know." Obi-Wan replied. "The only way to find out is getting down there. However, I advise caution. I sense something...off, in the Force." Obi-Wan said as he looked to the floor, contemplating.
"...I sense it, too, Master." Obi-Wan had hoped it was just him, that his senses were in need of "tuning". But apparently that was not the case.
"Send a small team to investigate the area. Stay hidden. I have a feeling we shouldn't be going in blasters-a-blazing this time around." he remarked with what little humor he could muster at the time.
Anakin tried to play along, but his inflections were weak. "Heh. You say that like there's any other way to go about a mission, Obi-Wan."
"Just...be careful down there."
"Will do, Master. We'll be back here before you know it."
Obi-Wan hoped he was right, but that nagging feeling in the Force didn't help that hope. One thing they both knew was, no matter what they found, something was indeed very wrong.
To say the hanger was bustling would be an understatement. Clones were darting here and there, others were sorting through supply crates, and pilots were performing pre-flight diagnostics along with their astromechs. Crews were giving the outer hauls of the fighters a once over, checking for any external damage that may have been missed in the previous post-battle inspection. The gunships that would drop off the landing party were getting the same treatment. The pilots had been briefed on the posibility of Seperatist resistance and were prepared for engagement if the droids popped up later on. Gathered near one of the LAATs, Anakin was briefing Rex, Ahsoka, the two pilots of a single LAAT, and two 501st clones.
"R2?" Anakin asked, and his astromech then projected a portion of Jakku's topography. Rolling hills of sand filled in the perimeter of the projection, while the center was more flat and uniform. A red dot near the center marked the point of interest.
"Here's the situation." Skywalker began. "Our destination is sector 59.47." he states, pointing the hologram. "We know the site is emitting strong signals but they are impossible for us to interpret. According the reports from the locals, we're looking at a tall spire that turns into a deep sinkhole at ground level. It is made of unknown materials and objects. There are also...rumors of strange and frightening sounds, as well as sightings of machines of unknown origin." Skywalker rubbed the back of his head. He really thought this whole mission was silly, at least at first. It still did, but what he felt earlier seemed to sober him up. He had his orders, and for once, he would follow them.
Ahsoka could hear one of the clones, Jansen, whisper to his brother, "Sounds like clankers". He was always the "shoot first, ask questions later" kind of clone, and rather humorous and outspoken. He almost always managed to make someone laugh...except now, of course.
"Shh!" She heard the other, named Kot, tell him as he elbowed Jansen. Kot was the more respectable of the two, although he usually bended the rules in his favor. Something unusual about him was his intellect. Kot was about as much of a geek as the clone vats on Kamino could produce. He was no genius by any stretch, but his mind and fondness of tinkering with droids tended to come in handy from time to time.
Ahsoka gave a small smile and rolled her eyes at them before turning back to face the holo. While her Master tended to work with the likes of Rex and Fives-Force rest his soul-she was usually stuck with these two, odd, characters. But Ahsoka didn't mind. In fact, she rather enjoyed their company. Over time the three became very good friends, and she trusted them...but even her trust had its limits.
Skywalker takes a step towards the holo and raises his voice slightly to regain their attention. "Our job is to recon and investigate the area, and secure whatever evidence we can. We don't know whether or not the Separatists are involved here, but to play it safe, the team will be small so as to not risk detection. We will depart at local planetary dusk for further concealment under the cover of darkness. The landing party will consist of Myself, Captain Rex, and Commander Tano, and clones Kot and Jansen" he said, pointing to each member, respectively. "We'll all file into one gunship and the pilots will land at this point, here" The holo scrolled to the south and revealed a mountainous region. "These mountains should hide our ship well enough. We'll start there and work our way to the objective."
Anakin's voice became solemn. "We don't know what we're dealing with, here. This could have Separatist fingerprints all over it, or we could be dealing with something else entirely." His thoughts briefly drifted to the disturbance he felt earlier, and his Padawan shot him a concerned look. Apparently he forgot to close off his thoughts from the Force, and Ahsoka felt it. He looked at her gave a slight nod, which she returned, and turned back to the clones, and became very stern, furrowing his brows. "But no matter how crazy or bogus this mission may seem, remember that we're doing this to ensure the safety of the Republic and her people. Expect resistance, and keep your guard up and your head down at all times. Any questions?"
Kot, as was his character, always had questions. "Sir, that's quite the walk. Why don't we just land right next to the disturbance?"
Rex stepped up. "Because if the Seppies are involved, they'll no doubt have an outpost there. Of what size and firepower we don't know, but we can't chance our gunship being caught in the open."
"And why not just send in an entire fleet to combat them instead of relying on stealth?" asked one of the pilots.
Anakin answered. "Jakku is in the far Outer-Rim. Our intel on the planet is sparse. If we blindly send a strike-force we could be sending them to their doom. Stealth is the safest option."
There was something Jansen couldn't understand. "Sir, with all due respect, why are Kot and I being sent on this OP? Surely there are more experienced clones-"
"The majority of troops I would consider sending are either unavailable or dead" the General deadpanned. "Jansen, you're known for being a good shot. You'll be hanging back and providing cover should we need it. Kot, you have a sharp mind. If we do find something unusual down there, we could use your brains."
With a single clap of his hands, he dismissed them. "Alright, pile in!" he shouted as he pointed to the gunship.
A chorus of "Sir, yes sir!" followed the end of the briefing, and the two funneled into the LAAT, while the pilots climbed into their respective seats.
"You okay, Skyguy?" Ahsoka asked as she walked up to him.
"Ahsoka, did...you sense anything when we came out of hyperspace?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. But I didn't know what to make of it" she replied. Ahsoka, while very skilled in combat and the Force, was still a padawan for a reason.
"I guess we all sensed it. Something is off down there. I need you to be extra careful, alright?" He asked, looking her straight in the eye. Ahsoka started to worry. She almost never hears her master speak to her like this. She always knew he cared about her, but he never directly expressed it like just did here.
Ahsoka nodded. "I will, Master. I promise." She replied with an equal tone to his.
Anakin's posture lightened up at that, and he smirked. "Alright. I guess the sooner we leave, the sooner we can leave this dust ball, eh?" he said with mock-enthusiasm.
"What's up with you and sand, anyway, Skyguy?" She replied with a chuckle, going along with the change in mood.
Anakin sighed, rolling his eyes and jerked his head in the direction of their ride. "Just get in the ship" he deadpanned as he entered.
Ahsoka glanced to the side of the haul when something caught her eye; something displeasing to her. Ugh. Why do they have to paint skimpy Twi'leks on these things? Next thing I know it'll be a Togruta. The thought made her shiver. No thanks.
During the trip from the hanger to Jakku's atmosphere, there was an increasing tension filling the air surrounding the passengers. Well, at least the passengers who were Force-sensitive. Jansen and Kot, who both occupied the opposite side of the transport, seemed relaxed and ready for anything. However, the other two on board weren't as fortunate. On the far end was Anakin, who was fidgety, crossing his arms and occasionally tapping his foot on the durasteel floor of the gunship, to which his padawan gave an eye-roll.
But to be fair, being the student of the oh-so-impatient one, Ahsoka wasn't faring much better. "Alright, seriously, what's going on with you?" she finally blurted out. "You and Master Kenobi seemed really gloomy ever since we took off."
Anakin sighed and turned towards her. "Reach out, Ahsoka. Focus on the planet. What do you feel?" he said.
Ahsoka was still a slow learner when it came to feeling through the Force, but she knew enough. She closed her eyes and opened herself to the cosmic energy. She blocked out the hum of the engines, the occasional whispers and fist-bumps of her clone companions, and also the tension and unease coming from her mentor. Ahsoka focused on the planet Jakku.
After a moment, her eyes shot wide open. "Master? What is that?"
Anakin shook his head. "I'm not sure, Ahsoka" he replied. "We can only assume it's from the anomaly we're investigating."
"It was so...subtle. No wonder I didn't notice it before, but now that we're closer I can feel that it's, well, different."
The Force is normally equated to liquid that flows all around and absorbs into the user, and, when directed so, the user could open his/her "flood gate" and unleash a current of power, and bend it to their will. This was different. While Ahsoka had to admit that what she began to feel wasn't unpleasant, it did make her wonder. Before, when they were on the Resolute, she didn't sense anything. But now that they were nearing the atmosphere, Ahsoka senses became more and more immersed in this subtly strange feeling. The Force was not flowing through her, but blowing against her, more like a light and steady breeze then a current. And the direction of the breeze told Ahsoka that it was coming from Jakku.
"I don't think you're not sensing all of it. Reach out again" her master replied before he was interrupted by one of the clones. Kot, to be specific.
"Excuse us, sirs, but we need to perform a gear-check."
The two Jedi turned to their clone companions. Annoyed, Skywalker asked, "And why didn't you do this before we left?"
Jansen spoke up in defense. "We did, sir. It's standard procedure to double-check our equipment before arriving at the LZ. But we can wait if it suits you best, sir."
Anakin sighed and shook his head. "No. Carry on." He then looked to his padawan and put a hand on her shoulder. "Reach out."
"Yes, Master" she replied as Anakin removed his hand. She closed her eyes once again, and opened herself up.
She never noticed the awkward gestures the clones were giving each other. They turned off their external speakers and spoke to each other through the comm units that were built in to their helmets, so as not to interrupt the Jedi with...whatever it is they're doing.
"Wellp, better get checked up, eh bro?" Jansen humorously told his brother. He slid off his pack and tossed it on the ground with a thud, startling the padawan.
Kot put his hand on his helmet and sighed. "Geez, J. You gotta let the whole ship know?"
"What?" he asked stretching his arms out.
"Could you keep it down, please?" they heard Ahsoka ask.
Fumbling with his autio dial on his helmet, he switched his mic back on. "O-of course, Commander. Apologies" and quickly switched it back.
She nodded politely, and went back to concentrating.
"Just try to go quietly, will ya?" Kot hastily replied. "Upsetting any Jedi is a bad idea, but triggering Skywalker or his student is even worse."
"Hey, the Gen. just told us to do this, so I'm gonna! I don't need you breathing over my shoulder about it!" Jansen said heatedly.
"C'mon, man! Please?" he whined as he removed his own pack and, gently, set it on the floor, and crouched down to it. Jansen just -growled, but relented. As they were picking up various devices and testing their functionality, Kot would occasionally sneak a glance at the Commander. It's not often he gets to see a Jedi meditating. He never really had a good grasp on concepts of the Force, but it was a subject that intrigued him, and seeing a Jedi in this state simply fasinated him. Jansen noticed him sneaking looks before long. "Getting an eyefull over there?"
Caught off guard, he blurted out "Wha-n-NO! It's not like that!" Jansen laughed hard.
"I just...it's not often I see someone meditate like this. I'm curious."
"Ugh. You and you obsessions" Jansens said distastefully.
Kot had had enough. "Oh shut up you Gundark brain."
Jansen swung around towards him, shaking a fist. "I'm gonna-"
"Ladies." Rex interrupted from towards the ship's front. He'd been listening in the whole time.
The two might as well have jumped out of their skin.
They jerked away and hit their back on the ship's side-panel, creating another loud metalic thud.
"Eh," Jansen said, breathing heavily. "Sorry, Sir. Forgot you were there."
Kot cringed. Surely that disturbed the Jedi again. Kriff. He opened his eyes and checked.
...Anakin wasn't even paying attention to him. He looked concerned. His focus was on the commander. Looking at her himself, his eyes widened.
She was breathing heavily, face contorted. She looked scared. She shook her head a couple of times. "No..." she whimpered, barely loud enough to register. "No...please..."
By my creators....
"General?" Rex asked as he moved closer. "What's wrong?"
"I..." He started, not taking his eyes off of her, but he stopped when she whimpered again. Anakin moved in front of her and lightly shook her. "Snips? Snips, snap out of it!"
"What in blazes-" Jansen started, but was quickly sushed by his brother.
A loud cry erupted from her, startling everyone. And then she collapsed.
"AHSOKA!" Anakin shouted as he caught her.
"Commander!" Rex shouted as well coming to the General's side.
"The hell happened!" Jansen finally got out. Kot just stood there in a daze.
This isn't normal... he thought.
Aren't I bright for realizing that?
Suddenly the General grunted and doubled over in pain.
"General!" Kot finally spat out as he went to support him.
"I'm fine!" he said immediately, jerking himself away from his help.
"Reading a disturbance on the scanners" came the voice of one of the pilots through the intercomm.
"Just help her" Anakin continued, pointing to his padawan. Kot stared at her.
I know medicine.
I can do this.
He kicked his pack closer to her and crouched down, opening the flap and searching for a medisensor. "Where is it?" he complained to himself. "Ah, Kriff! Where is it?!"
The intercom blared again. "BRACE FOR IMPACT!"
Wind. A steady, blowing, wind, just like she felt before. She kept concentrating. It was...calming. Peaceful, which, to be honest, surprised her. Ahsoka could almost feel the breeze on her orange skin, which honestly felt very good. But she wasn't relaxed. None of this made sense. None at all! If...whatever this is, is as bad as the people on Jakku say, then how could it feel so cozy? Something that's of the Dark Side would be giving off feelings of fear, anxiety, dread. Unless this wasn't of the Dark Side But how could it not be? This felt reassuring. Rejuvenating. Tranquil. And Ahsoka just couldn't understand why, which frustra-
Focus she reminded herself, and opened herself further, listening, seeing, smelling-whichever of her five senses would pick up something. Anything. She stretched out her feelings and felt around where the source was.
It was...empty. That's the only way she could describe it. Void of feeling, void of...meaning. The Force flowed past it, but not through it. Not with it. Like a boat displacing the water it sits upon. It was empty of the Force. It was bypassing whatever this was. Ahsoka had encountered a lot of strange things in her short time fighting in the Clone War, but this was one of the strangest, by far. She reached out even further, and that's when Ahsoka noticed something else. Something in her ear.
Whispers. The wind. It was speaking. Talking to her. She listened, inclining her ear to what the breeze was saying. The voice was feminine, as if whispering in her ear, yet it sounded distant, at the same time.
"Hope,"
the voice said in monotone.
"Peace. Tranquility."
All of a sudden, the breeze was gone, the comfort and the whispers with it. The lack of the sound the wind made produced an almost deafening silence. Ahsoka squinted to maintain her concentration, and then she saw something. No, many things.
People. Ahsoka saw lots of people. She couldn't make out their features, but she could tell that some were holding hands, while she could hear others talking and laughing. They were all walking throughout a...a...a town. No, more than a town. A city? Maybe, if you could call it a city, that is. It wasn't your typical spotless and shiny and bustling modern utopia, like on the upper levels on Coruscant, but it seemed solid enough, and no one seemed to mind the imperfections. Some people stood still, looking up in the sky. There was something up there, she knew it, but she couldn't see what it was. But Ahsoka knew the look in those people's eyes as they stared skyward. They were...hopeful...peaceful. Smiling. Just like the whispers said, she reminded herself, and she couldn't help it when her own lips curled upwards.
Then the wind returned. It blew softly throughout the city, attempting to provide comfort to the people within. An attempt that completely failed. They all hastily turned their heads to another section of the sky, and in the blink of an eye, the warm bliss that Ahsoka could feel coming from the masses turned into what she could only describe as pure dread. She became cold, almost to the point of shivering. She sucked in a breath in shock, and hugged her arms in an effort to warm herself up, her face tightened in concentration. She was unaware of the wary look her master was giving her.
Unexpectedly the wind roared out,
"Facades!"
this time in a deep masculine tone, the once soothing and welcoming breeze replaced by a raging torrent of chilling air that blew against the city and the people therein. They all turned and ran as fast as they could. Ahsoka's heart became heavy. Somehow she just knew that, no matter what these people did, they would not survive.
She wanted to help them. Help them get to safety. Help them find their loved ones. Their children. Their parents. But it would be in vain. She knew this, but she didn't care! She couldn't just stand by and let-
"Helpless!"
it roared inside her head, even louder this time. A massive shadow began enveloping the city, starting at a point, and then symmetrically increasing and increasing until the whole population was under a thick darkness. No, she pleaded to whoever may hear. Please, don't, don't do this! Leave them alone!
As if it by her command, everything in her vision froze. The people, terror still plastered on their faces, were stuck in limbo as they were running away from the torrent. Gradually, everything she saw turned into a near-pasty white, like paper, and Ahsoka held back another gasp as everything crumbled and turned to dust, blowing away from her view. Helpless she told herself, although to be honest, she didn't know why.
"Hopeless"
the torrent spoke in a now hollow and serpent-like tone. Apparently the wind has many accents. At that word, Ahsoka yelped when she found herself floating, completely surrounded by a thick blackness. No ships, no stars, no nothing. Nothing but herself. She tried yelling for help, but no sound would come out of her mouth. She squirmed, flaying for arms and legs, trying to produce some kind of momentum. But whether or not she actually was, she couldn't tell. There was nothing to reference any velocity to. She was stuck. She could barely wrap her head around any of this. Force! What's going on!? she pleaded to whoever might have listened. When no one answered, she hung her head in defeat. Hopeless. So hopeless, she echoed, again wondering why in the Galaxy she keeps involuntarily repeating what the wind was saying.
"LIES!"
She jerked her head back up, adrenaline suddenly pumping through her because this time, she knew it was talking directly to her. Ahsoka frantically searched all around her for the voice that sounded so near, but came up short. Panic attempted to ensue, and she tried to fight it. I'm a Jedi. We're not scared easily.
"You cannot hide."
The panic came regardless. It didn't feel as if if came from within her, but rather it felt like a blanket of dread was placed on top of her. But the end result was the same. Her chest heaving and eyes wide open, she practically screamed, "Who are you!?" But again, nothing could come out of her mouth. Flashes of white light began to strobe at a consistently faster and faster rate, which disoriented her, until she suddenly felt a cold, clawed and scaly hand vice-grip her neck and pull her in.
Someone was there. Right in front of her. A black silhouette of a face. Two protrusions that looked something between horns and wings were on either side of its' head. Black mist was oozing off of it's skin. Three eyes, two in their normal positions and one on its' forehead, above and in-between the other two, suddenly opened and shun their green gaze and pierced into her very soul. Ahsoka screamed again. It's mouth, filled with dozens of spiked teeth, opened up, producing a disgusting grin. She could smell the stench coming from his mouth, and it made her gag. The last thing she remembered before blacking out was the creature roaring with all its might, right in her face:
"I. SEE. YOU!"
She knew what it saw...Everything...