A.N.
Apologies for the delay. I got stuck on a slight plot hole which I trust has been resolved.
Enjoy!
Chapter 10- No Prisoners
Day9; The Commenor System, Commenor.
The far stretched patches of yellow and green disappeared behind thick black smoke that rose from the ruins of what must have been a site belonging to a glamorous city.
A shuttle raced between two Providence Class Destroyers that were closing in on the location, slowly looming over its towers and overshadowing the central attraction, a fabulously designed pentagon surrounded by streets and small gardens, known across the galaxy as The University of Commenor.
The shuttle's legs protruded from its sides and nose then turned about itself before settling on the ground. The boarding ramp slid to touch the ground as quickly as its door opened revealing the tall, slender and bearded Count Dooku.
He marched down the ramp to meet a waiting droid commander, "Report."
The droid was distinctly marked in yellow paint to indicate its rank, "The last pockets of resistance have been destroyed sir, just as you ordered!"
"Excellent." He finally spared a glance towards the smoked and desecrated institute, "I trust that you burned their libraries too?"
"Of course." The droid nodded, "And the librarians as well, just in case."
A cold sneer crept across his wrinkled complexion, "Good!"
Sometimes he couldn't help but admire the sadistic irony that occasionally accompanied the conclusive logic of these machines. They were learning indeed.
Commenor's refusal to join secession before the war was not unexpected. Regardless, it was commonly known that if the Alliance was to ever break through to the Core Worlds in the case of a war then Commenor was to be the doorway.
When the war began rumor began to spread among the senators of a terrible fate that would befall this planet. A Separatist armada was spotted near the system and the ambitious commander had hoped to bring the war to a quicker end by seizing it. The campaign of course failed after the Jedi came on to the scene. But the rumor never died, not until it reached his ears at least. And he took a particular liking to it; so much so that he the prospect of taking Commenor has since been made a key turning point to win this war.
Sadly, the whispers of a horrendous bombardment of Commenor's shipyards and the swift leveling of its prestigious university with the burning of its libraries and the sacking of its industrial farms soon withered away in the political winds of change.
Well, at least until now, when the whispers have just become a reality. Whatever hopes the Republic is still clinging to might as well be cast aside as the foolish dreams of fidgety old diplomats, desperate to talk themselves out of their march to the gallows.
But the Separatists Alliance has no ear for corrupt tongues. As surely as Commenor burned they will meet their fate; the just delivery of a hasty defeat and grievous deaths.
A chilling presence crept beside him, followed by a raspy feminine voice, "I'm here, Master."
"Ventress." He responded with a slight tilt of his chin, "Have you done as I asked?"
"Of course." She replied beneath a silk black cloak draped over her face, "All the officials on the list are now headless and their bodies scattered across the lavish palace floor."
"It had to be done." He explained, "They were greedy and corrupt. They oppressed the labor force and disregarded the rights of an education to their own people. They will not be missed."
A subtle, thrilling smile emerged under her hood, "Yes, my lord."
He twisted to face her, indicating in his tone a change of subject, as if they had an arranged agenda prior to this meeting, "I've contacted one of my old agents on Velusia. There's going to be a change of plans."
She stepped in beside him as they moved down the wide marble footpath towards the university, "Are we not going to wait for the Clone Army to setup base there?"
"On the contrary," Dooku's brows were raised in a mocking gesture, "Kenobi and Skywalker seem to have stumbled into our little trap."
"Let me kill them." She hissed.
"I'm afraid I cannot allow that." He grimaced and shrugged, "My master wants Skywalker alive. He made it clear that the padawan must be killed and anyone else is not of his concern."
"So what is my assignment?" She frowned curiously and stopped beside him in front of the giant doorway into the building.
"You are to rendezvous with my agent. Should the plot fail, kill them both."
Asajj bowed, "Your will is my command."
Dooku then turned to the droid, "Commander, contact General Grievous, inform him that Commenor has fallen, tell him to prepare his fleet for imminent withdrawal."
Asajj remained motionless, but in the Force he could sense her curiosity. It was like an interruption without a voice, prompting Dooku to snap around and draw his breath with a blank expression.
"You need not concern yourself at this time." He told her, "My plot is not yet relevant to your current affairs."
Day 9; The Velusia system, Velusia
Velusia was all about balance, Anakin noted. Through the Force one could almost feel the competition between the two moons and their harmonious struggle to overpower each other. You could hear it in the rivers that echoed across the gardens he and Ahsoka walked through.
Bree was a beautiful port village, which made it such a shame to discover the Separatists had already planted their intelligence agents firmly here.
"Sometimes I wonder," Ahsoka started, "if things will ever go back to normal."
"They always do Snips, eventually." He replied passively.
They walked together beside a stone wall that ran alongside the riverbed. The footpath was all but covered with overgrown grass. And the sounds of night crawlers and river creatures cricketed and croaked relentlessly.
"Do you think we'll ever see it?" She asked while taking a glance towards him.
"You don't want to know what I think." He said, "Things weren't all that great before the war."
Her lips twitched to one side, and with a thoughtful look in her eyes she finally spoke, "What do you mean?"
He turned his gaze to her, "What?"
"You said things weren't all that great." She explained, "Why?"
His brows wrinkled, "You don't know what it's like to lose your mother, Ahsoka. You wouldn't understand, even if I explained it to you."
Her eyes widened but then narrowed so harshly he thought she stepped in something, and when she stopped he turned to look at her, "Is everything alright?"
She moved slowly to the wall of the river and let out a deep breath, "Yes."
But that wasn't a very convincing yes; her tone said no. He stepped in behind her, "Was it something I said?"
She glared coldly at the reflection of the two moons in the river. He felt a deep aggravation inside her, and could sense it wasn't directed at him nor at what he said, but rather at a memory, one that was shrouded from him and possibly everyone else, too.
"This is about your mother, isn't it?" He suggested.
She tilted her head away from him and crossed her arms, "Why do you care?"
"You never mentioned her." He shrugged, "Do you even remember her?"
She sighed bitterly, "A little."
Ahsoka's past was a thing to wonder about. She revealed very little of it to anyone, and he would always be so preoccupied with current affairs anyway, or reminiscing about his own past to actually think or care about hers much. The subject simply never cropped up enough times. And when it did, she wouldn't tell much.
"She died." Ahsoka added, "I wasn't even there when it happened."
Anakin's gaze shifted to the ground, "I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"She was all we had after father died." She finally unclenched her fists and continued, "Our village was starving. She worked hard to feed us… and then when Master Plo came he changed everything. Mother was so happy in those days. He protected us and gave our village the means to protect ourselves."
Anakin spotted a glow in her eyes, no doubt a gleaming translation of the wonder that matched her memories. He could only imagine how much joy she had in her life at that time. But sadly, the glow faded with a grim sigh and her shoulders slumped. Her gaze fell to the water.
"I went out to play with some friends," She continued, "then we got attacked by a predator. If Master Plo wasn't there in time I would've been killed. That was when he discovered me…and discovered that I was Force-sensitive. He trained me to protect myself just like he did with all the Shili Warriors in our village. It was my first real Jedi Training. This was my prize."
She bitterly held the ornament on her head at Anakin to emphasize her point. The discontent and rage in her eyes made him think she was almost…disgusted with it.
"Mother was so happy…so proud."
"She would be Snips. She was your mother." He explained.
"Or so you would think." She spat, and before Anakin could ask she continued and leaned over the wall again, "The day Master Koon was set to leave she came running to him, begging him to take me in to the Temple."
"You didn't want to?"
"What does it matter if I wanted to or not?" She snapped, meeting his gaze with sharp eyes, "My own mother gave me away! My mother…who loved me…pushed me out of my home. Away from her, my sisters and anyone I ever cared about. I was scared, Anakin! I dreaded it! I drea-"
"I was scared too." He muttered.
As if struck by reason Ahsoka fell silent and stared at him. He could sense that she was looking for something to say, whether to comfort him, herself…or both of them at the same time, but she turned away, her voice croaked, "I… couldn't forget, no matter how hard I tried. First I saw her in my dreams. Then in my nightmares…and then… "
She pressed her fist against her lips, fighting to control her breaths. Almost a moment later, Anakin heard her sniffle and decided to finish her sentence, "She died."
She nodded reluctantly.
An all too familiar pain, he realized. She obviously hadn't shared this with anyone before. Perhaps there were too many tears shed in the dark for her to come out about it, and perhaps that might've explained her strong motivation to challenge everything in life, like he had, to prove her worth. To make up for the failure and make even with the entire galaxy for robbing her away of the one person who ever showed her real compassion in her life.
And here she stands now in front of him, reliving those memories now, rekindling the old flames- the same flames that burned him years ago.
"If only…" She wiped her cheeks, refusing to face him, "if only she hadn't done that…if only I was there with her. Maybe…"
"Your mother only wanted a better future for you, Snips."
"She was selfish!" she yelled and challenged him again with the same solid frown, except her cheeks were soaked in tears, "She never thought about what I wanted! She never considered that I should make my own decision about where I wanted to be. I wanted to be with her! I didn't care if I starved for the rest of my life, Anakin. I didn't care…I didn't…"
The words didn't come out when her tears overpowered her, forcing her to bury her face in her palms. Anakin carefully put a hand on her shoulder. He somehow expected this. She clearly shared mixed feelings about her mother. At least his mother gave him the choice of two different paths despite living in poverty.
Ahsoka, on the other hand, was thrown down the only path her mother could give her, and that left her scarred with a wound to be despaired with. Yoda had always taught that for a Jedi, such pain to live with is a seed of the Darkside.
"Why didn't you ever mention this?" He asked then looked into her deep blue eyes when she turned around and shook her head.
"I…couldn't." she whispered hurtfully, "Could you?"
The thought struck him deeply. Indeed, he never could bring it up with anyone, and especially not a Jedi. It's not quite because it was a shame, or because he was worried about punishment. It was because it was a moment of weakness. One he preferred to forget.
"No." He admitted.
Ahsoka slowly wrapped her arms around him and tightened the hug, she muttered, "You were right after all. Things weren't all that great before the war."
It was indeed amazing how she lived with this in mind. Emotions like that can easily corrupt someone from childhood, but somehow…it didn't corrupt her. She clung on to hope. And when that was lost, she clung on to something else. One can only wonder what that was.
He slowly began to put his hands around her when she jolted, "What is it?"
Her hands scanned his shirt, scurrying around his armor until she reached his collar and tugged at it. Confused, Anakin asked again, "What are you doing?"
She pulled herself away from him and demanded, "Where is it?"
"Where's what?"
"The necklace I gave you!" She asked urgently.
His eyes widened and his hand moved to his chest. He stuttered, "I…don't know."
"What?" She scoffed sarcastically.
He stammered again, "I'm sure I had it. I just…"
Her frown tightened, "Just what?"
"I'm sure it's on the ship somewhere." He offered a smile and an innocent shrug, "It'll crop up eventually."
"So you're not even gonna look for it?" She retorted.
"It's not that urgent, Ahsoka. It's just a necklace…"
A powerful wave of Force energy threw him off balance and knocked him on the floor. When he finally caught his breath he spotted her marching in the other direction. He struggled up on to his feet and noted that he preferred a simple slap over a push like that any day, then reminded himself of exactly what he was punished for. Except…it was unlike him to forget something like that.
Yeah, sure he struggled with keeping hold of his lightsaber back in the day, but he got to grips with it eventually and never lost anything since then. He shrugged it off and sighed, she's obviously overreacting and the crystal is most likely on the ship.
He wouldn't blame her though; the memories she just spoke of are fresh on her mind now and she needs the rest to calm herself.
In fact, he could do with some rest as well. The crystal can wait till tomorrow.
Day9; The Commenor System, Commenor
The smell of burnt flesh was never pleasant, no matter how often you were exposed to it. Particularly when the torsos lying smoking before you belonged to artificially produced humans…or rather, clones.
The droids did not suffer from such trauma, or any trauma at all, which makes it all the more easy for them to rid of prisoners of war. The Separatists do not take prisoners, simply because clones are too loyal to bargain with. They were bred that way.
Stepping away from the rows of charred armor and meat, holding out a hologram with his palm, Dooku tried to ignore the distraction and continue his conversation.
"You heard me, General." he insisted, "You are to withdraw from the battle immediately."
Despite the slumped shoulders and the grumpy mask that hid his deformed complexion, Grievous stood tall and proud in his palm. His arms were by his side, and the fingers on one hand clung on to his cape.
"But the Jedi are right in my grip!" He growled, "I refuse to withdraw when victory is so clearly in sight."
"Ah, but a far sweeter fruit is ripe for the picking." Dooku smirked.
Grievous snarled, "What could possibly taste sweeter than a hard fought victory?"
"A swift victory in this war requires a far more challenging engagement on a far more crucial location than your current one. I'm sure in your wisdom you can find a more…influential target that can meet your criteria, General, can you not?"
Grievous was allowed to ponder on those words, the whole while his yellow reptilian eyes shifted from side to side, calculating, orchestrating the possible scenarios in his mind until his gaze narrowed ominously and exclaimed, "Coruscant…you want to attack Coruscant!"
"The Senate will never expect a bold move on the capital. Why, even the Jedi are too blinded by their arrogance to foresee such an assault on their own Jedi Temple. A strike at the heart of the Republic and the Jedi Order itself will leave so many of them vulnerable to pick off; including Master Yoda. I have faith your leadership can bring about this arrangement."
"But what of Lord Sidious? His instructions were clear. We were not to attack…"
"You need not worry about his instructions." Dooku interrupted, "My Master does not have the courage to make such a gamble. His vision is narrowed on the single meager purpose to persuade Jedi Skywalker to follow the path of the Darkside; a goal that is growing more impossible with each battle. Our only real path to success is to see the death of the Jedi and the death of the Republic. A path I'm certain you are more than happy to follow."
"Indeed." Grievous purred, "But my fleet alone cannot achieve this purpose. Coruscant will be swarming with ships."
"Yes, I know." Dooku straightened, "Which is why I will be joining you on this assault. Our aim is not to take the planet. We need only to destroy the Temple, kill any Jedi who stand in our path and leave the Senate Hall in ruin. Only once The Republic is without its leaders can we achieve instant victory in this war."
Grievous chuckled slyly, "I will prepare my fleet immediately."
"Good." Dooku offered a subtle smile, "There still remains some personal matters for me to take care of. Await my signal until then."
Greivous bowed and the hologram disappeared in the Count's palm. With a humble frown he observed the rest of the executions. In the Force he could feel The Darkside growing stronger here. He only hoped it would accompany him on his next campaign.
Trivia:
1. The University of Commenor was only mentioned on where Padme Amidala supposedly gave a speech at a peace rally that received criticism from Republic war veterans.
2. The name of the village Bree was partly inspired from the name of a village or county in Lord of the Rings.
3. Ahsoka's backstory here, including her mother and sisters, is of my own creation and has no credit in Star Wars canon or EU.
A.N.
Special thanks goes to Alexii once again without whom I'd be the victim of countless errors and grammatical mistakes. And thanks to the following for their kind reviews:
newfoundspartan, the truth will reveal itself in time; general-joseph-dickson, indeed it is their moral responsibility to fix that; darth frankie, i hope this was soon enough; cHr0n0sP3r3, where would the fun be if it had?; Major Mike Powell III, not quite as fluffy as you hoped I think; Darth Prysion, that's very kind of you to say; Agent0Gecko, I'm glad you're enjoying it as much as I am writing it; The Once And Future Thing, her part will be revealed very soon; Bkipper, indeed I did intend that!
Stay tuned to my profile page for announcements!