Hi guys! I know, I've been updating these three first parts pretty quickly, but that's because I had a lot of free time today and got inspired. Might not be like that in the days to come though. Sorry for the short lengh of the chapters, but I think I'll keep it that way because it corresponds to the way I see and imagine all the scenes, to me it's actually more like scenes than chapters. So I hope it won't bother you too much. Enjoy!


When Ahsoka's eyes shot open, the first thing she did was cry out in pain. Which made all the troopers around her jump. She sat up and immediately a wave of nausea swept over her, preventing her from rising fully and instead she just fell back into a lying position. As the world started spinning the back of her head landed on the hard ground, making her wince. Trend was over her the next second.

"Don't move too much, Commander."

Ahsoka closed her eyes briefly until the world stopped turning then looked at the trooper hovering over her. He had taken his helmet off and her gaze stopped on the small scar on his right temple and his red hair. Usually the clones dyed their hair to look different and their armor was also in different colors and patterns, but Ahsoka could easily distinguish every member of her own squad without them needing to change their appearance. Anakin and she always called troopers by their names and not numbers. After all, she had been constantly by their side during battles for more than two years now, they were all a big family. She particularly hated those who considered clones as expandable and not worth caring for.

Instead of trying to sit up again, she turned her head to assess the damage on her troops and how many were left. Rex was sitting nearby, his helmet at his side. He seemed to be working on something that looked like a transmitter. Then there was Booth who was just resting against a rock. And finally Trend who was checking her injuries or about to do so since he seemed to be waiting for her until she finished looking around, probably wanting to go through them with her.

"Are we the only ones left?"

Her voice was so faint and broken she didn't recognize it as her own and she coughed to give it more strength. Trend sighed and looked down for a minute, his face deadly serious.

"Comet and Sinker have gone back to the shuttle to see if there's something we could salvage. It's not very far, just half-an-hour walk."

"You've carried me all the way here?" She sounded impressed and rather thankful that they didn't leave her for dead in the wreckage.

"Yes, Sir. Unfortunately, no one else from our team made it. We crashed into a canyon so the enemy didn't pursue us but the shuttle's been pretty much destroyed."

Ahsoka nodded and took a deep breath in order not to cry for her fallen men and comrades. Trend then helped her sit up slowly, holding her arm and back to keep her balanced and handed her a bottle of water. She took a few sips but nothing much really. She knew perfectly well that in this kind of situation, they needed to spare as much provisions as possible until they found more or were rescued.

"You've got four broken ribs, Commander, two on each side," said Trend as she was looking at her body to assess the damage herself.

A tight bandage was around her chest and another one around her head. Her left lekku was also in a bandage all the way from the middle to the bottom and she had to focus not to scream every time she moved her head. The scratches and bruises on her arms and legs had been cleaned and didn't need any particular treatment.

"We thought you had a concussion, Sir. We were afraid you wouldn't wake up. So I'll ask you not to fall asleep until this evening. You might be fine now, but when it comes to a head injury one is never too careful. As for you lekku, Sir… It's in a pretty bad shape, but I'm sorry I can't do nothing more, I'm not specialized in Togruta healing…"

"Don't worry, Trend. You did a fantastic job."

She smiled at him and the clone let go of her back since she seemed able to sit on her own. Ahsoka turned to Rex.

"Thanks for carrying me."

"You've got nothing to thank me for, Sir."

She then tried to use her comlink, but it didn't seem to be working. She wasn't even able to make contact, even less wait for someone to pick up her call.

"They're jamming our communications. I guess, you didn't manage to contact General Skywalker or Kenobi either?"

Rex shook his head sadly.

"Any luck with that transmitter?"

"Working on it, Commander. But I'll need some time and probably materials to make it work. Hopefully, Sinker and Comet will bring something useful."

"Speaking of the devil, how's been the salvage boys?" Trend asked the two troopers who just came back.

"Good to see you awake, Commander," Comet immediately said and Ahsoka smiled before wincing.

"Unfortunately, there wasn't much that hadn't burnt or exploded," said Sinker as he handed Rex a small bag of random things. "But we found some metal plates, cables and power cells that could still be used."

Rex thanked him and stuffed everything in one of the only two bags they had, Trend having the other with all the medical and first aid supplies. The medic turned to Ahsoka as Booth was stretching and getting up.

"We need to move, Commander. We've got to follow plan B and reach the valley where the Generals will meet with us. You think you can walk?"

She took his outstretched hand and rose to her feet. He caught her when she started swaying and she held her head as she frowned and growled.

"Maybe it's not such a good idea after all... I can still carry you Commander, if need be," suggested Rex, his helmet already back on his head.

Ahsoka raised her hand in protest. "I'm fine, just got a little dizzy, that's all. As long as a group of clankers don't fall on our heads, I'll be fine." She took a few steady steps to prove her words. The troopers nodded and formed a line then they started walking inside the wide canyon. Ahsoka could walk without too much difficulty but the pain was still there. Trend gave her some bacta and a painkiller shot but it stopped working after a few hours and she had to greet her teeth to keep on going without screaming.

It was morning when they launched the attack on Florrum and now, according to the sun's position right above their heads, it was around noon. They decided to keep the little food they had for the evening because after crossing only a mile in a few hours, they knew they'd spent the night out here in the canyons. They just hoped they'd meet the Generals the next day.

The more they walked, the more Ahsoka hated Florrum. The sun was making her sweat like crazy but she didn't complain because the troopers' condition was even worse with their armor. When they reached a ridge that provided a small poodle of shade, they gladly rested there until the sun sank a little in the sky. Thanks to the great height of the canyon, from a certain hour they had at least a little bit of shade in which they walked later on.

Because of Ahsoka's condition, they had to stop often and Rex took the opportunity of these frequent breaks to work on the transmitter. He was positive he'd be able to send a signal to Skywalker or Kenobi or even the Jedi Temple if he worked on it by nightfall which was fine by Ahsoka. She knew that the plan B was to reach the valley, but she also knew the separatists' compound wasn't in this direction and that all the troops remaining, now that her team was out, would have to get there and with that less troopers she wasn't even sure the Generals would succeed in destroying the compound. She also knew that her Master would come for her no matter what, even if it meant disobeying orders and she was afraid he'd do something reckless.

They kept walking for the better part of the day until she couldn't take it anymore and fell on her knees, breathing hard, Trend immediately at her side. She was lucky her broken ribs didn't pierce her lungs, but she was far from being out of danger: her condition could get worse big time so she had to be careful with every single one of her movements. Trend made her sit against the wall of the canyon, in the shaded part in which they had been walking for hours and checked her pulse which was beating awfully fast. She drank some water and he wiped the sweat on her forehead with the back of his hand, but he couldn't do anything else for her.

Once she calmed down, she was about to get up, already decided and determined to ignore Trend's comments on how she should take it easy, when they heard a noise coming from up front. It was like a growling and it echoed across the canyon.

"What was that?" Sinker asked, readying his blaster.

No one said a word, keeping perfectly still and eyes fixed at the corridor that the canyon was making in front of them. That's when they say them. A dozen creatures running on four legs, some sort of overgrown wild dogs.

"Canyon coyotes!" yelled Rex as the animals approached, ready to bite them to death.