"I cannot believe we're back here again." Obi-Wan says solemnly, the first battle was still a fresh scar for him.
"I got what data I could of what happened the first time, but it was mainly from the troopers, as the Jedi were touchy about the battle, having lost so many." I say. I had arrived separately from Anakin and Ahsoka this time. I was still angry, as even though I saved Denal, another had died in his place, the replacement being Razor. I didn't think an equivalent exchange would happen, but now I had to be careful. Having figured the new ship should be tested, as well as keeping my emotional distress away from Anakin and Ahsoka, I had a skeleton crew bring the Sacrifice to drop me off at Geonosis. Being an early Providence, she was effective at broadside attacks, and was heavily armoured, but I made sure that she would only drop me off, before returning to Kamino. I had not yet made any modifications, but I wanted to keep the ship as long as possible, so she would not be in active battle for some time.
"It is unfortunate. On both accounts." Master Ki-Adi-Mundi notes. "The resistance from the native Geonosians was stronger than we anticipated." While wanted to make a remark, I hold my tongue. I needed to keep my emotions in check.
"And their loyalty to Count Dooku is stronger than we anticipated as well." Obi-Wan adds.
"A fact that is often overlooked." Master Mundi notes. The door hisses open, as Anakin and Ahsoka walk in.
"You're late." Obi-Wan reports monotonously.
"Sorry, Master. Ahsoka and I were busy routing the seppies near Dorin." Anakin apologises half-heartedly.
"My squadron alone had 55 kills." Ahsoka boasted.
"Yeah, but mine had 76." Anakin states back to her.
"Show-off." She mutters with a smile.
"I'm glad you two are enjoying yourselves." Obi-Wan states, and is then given a glare in return from both Anakin, Ahsoka and me. "Uh, did I miss something?" He asks.
"If you read the report on our attempt at getting the Holocron from the Separatist Cruiser, you would know not to say that around me right now, Kenobi." I hiss out. "I'll be getting some helpers to keep the Sacrifice alive while I join the ground assault." I reply sharply, before leaving the bridge, and meeting Fives and Echo nearby.
"Sir, it's good to see you… I'm sorry about Razor." Fives says to me, and Echo nods in respect.
"I appreciate it. I haven't seen you since Kamino… Where are the rest?" I ask in concern.
"We're all that's left." Fives replies solemnly.
"I'm so sorry." I say, tears brimming at my eyes. I was always close with Domino Squad, having a piece of armour for each of them.
"It's alright. Being stuck with the usual duties of new blood keeps our minds off it." Echo replies softly.
"You guys going to be joining us on the ground?" I ask, trying to change the subject.
"No. Rex wants us to help keep the Resolute in one piece." Echo answers.
"I guess I'm half glad for that. This battle isn't going to be easy, and we will take heavy casualties." I comment. "I'll talk to you later. I need to get prepared for battle." I say, giving them one last goodbye before I make my way to the gunship that Anakin and Ahsoka would be in.
"You good, sir?" The pilot, Hawk, asks, making his way to me.
"I don't know, Hawk. I feel like I can't do something without making it worse in some way." I explain.
"I take it you are referring to the previous mission?" Hawk asks.
"Yeah. I just knew that something bad was going to happen, and urged Denal to stay, but they just had Razor go instead. I don't even know how they did, he isn't even part of the 501st." I say.
"So you feel its your fault. I can understand that, but it wasn't. It was just unlucky that Razor not only got chosen, but was killed." Hawk replies.
"It just hurts. I feel like I could have stopped it." I explain.
"But then they likely would have gotten someone else to go, and they likely would have suffered the same fate." Hawk reasons.
"I know. But it doesn't help the way the feel." I say, before Ahsoka comes up beside me.
"There was nothing you could have done. And you stopped Denal from suffering the fate he would have if he went." Ahsoka states.
"Maybe in another time, I could have done something." I quietly. "But I need to push that aside. We have a battle to fight."
"That we do." Anakin says, making his way over. "We all set, Hawk?" He asks.
"All set, General." He replies. Rex then makes his way over to us.
"General Kenobi is already under way, sir." Rex informs Anakin.
"He's got a head start. We'll have to catch up." Anakin smirks.
"Take us down, Hawk." I say, the gunship doors close and we depart the hanger, only to be assaulted by barrages of laser fire. We barely stay in the air for five minutes before we take an inevitable hit, the gunship descending into a crash landing.
"We're down, repeat down! Location five, seven, Theta, six." Rex reports into the comlink, but static begins to sound halfway through. Hawk manoeuvres the gunship as much as possible to give us a more padded landing, keeping the gunship upright even on impact, until the force of the crash tips us sideways. Using the Force, Anakin tears off the jammed door, giving us an exit.
"Come on, get up! We have to keep moving!" He calls to us as we depart. I halt mid-step, however, and move over to the cockpit. I find Hawk, and the co-pilot, their life force gone, having sacrificed themselves to keep us alive. I move back to Anakin and Ahsoka, taking the lightsaber that once belonged to General Ima Gun Di and igniting it, the azure blade humming as I angle the blade to deflect oncoming fire.
"They're falling back!" Rex calls to us, as the Geonosians retreated back, out of sight. Rex opens a channel with Cody, while Anakin, Ahsoka and I get the men to rest for a bit.
"Hawk's gone. So is the other pilot. They kept the crash landing as smooth as possible so that we could continue on." I inform them. Rex then comes over to us.
"Rex, what's the word?" Anakin asks him. "Can Obi-Wan send support or not?"
"I don't think so, sir. Cody says General Kenobi never reached the landing sight. They think his gunship got shot down." Rex informs us.
"Great. The one time I actually ask Obi-Wan for help, he needs some himself and is unable to help us." Anakin complains.
"Could be worse, Anakin. He could be dead." I advise him.
"I guess that is true. Alright, Rex, get the men mobilised. We're gonna rush the guns." Anakin orders, and Rex goes over to the men.
"I have a bad feeling about this, Anakin." I warn him.
"So do I, but we can't worry about it right now. We need to get to the landing zone." He notes. With the men up and ready, we move on. For the longest time, we find no enemy forces, at least until we reach a giant wall… fortified at least ten times more than the wall in the citadel test.
"Take cover!" I warn, but not fast enough. Of the dozen men with us, two were cut down before they could get behind the rocks.
"Well, this is another fine mess you've gotten us into." Ahsoka complains.
"What? Hey, it's not my fault. You were supposed to study the holomaps." Anakin argues.
"I did! Remember when I warned you about the giant wall, and you said, 'Don't worry, Snips, we won't be going anywhere near that.'" She counters, to Anakin's loss.
"Just get ready to climb." He replies in defeat. At this point, I had returned the lightsaber to my belt and was firing away with dual pistols. Back home, this wasn't exactly possible… at least not without years and years of training… But here, it worked quite well. Ahsoka and Anakin make their way to Rex.
"So what's the plan, General?" He asks.
"Just keep us covered, Rex. There's too much laser fire for all of us to make the climb. Ahsoka and I will handle this. Just be ready when that wall comes down." Anakin explains, before he and Ahsoka move off to scale a connected ridge. I then move over to Rex as he calls out to the men.
"Focus on the droids on the top of the wall." He orders, and moves to go and scale the ridge as well, before I stop him.
"Be careful up there." I warn, to which he simply nods before continuing on. I open fire on the droids up top as well, until there were no more. I could see Anakin and Ahsoka search for a hatch, only for two Droidekas to appear from the hatches, surrounding the two. Rex sneaks up behind the Droideka that Ahsoka was dealing with, moving through the shield and shooting its head, while Anakin, using the shots the now dead Droideka had fired as a distraction, slides underneath the remaining Droideka and slices of its head. The two of them then throw the explosive packs down, presumably in a hatch, and lift Rex into the air, before jumping off the wall themselves, as it exploded behind them. The dust obscures the view, as to whether they landed safely or not. As it clear, Anakin is seen helping Rex up. They then gesture for us to keep moving, passing a cave along the way, not noticing it until flames begin to emerge from the depths.
"Look, what's that?" Ahsoka asks. Anakin opens a channel on his comlink.
"Master Mundi, do you read me?" He asks.
"We are here, Skywalker." Master Mundi affirms. "We took a slight detour that put us out of communications for a bit."
"This has been a day for detours, Master." Anakin agrees.
"Indeed. But now the road is clear. I can see the landing zone. It does not look good." Mundi notes.
"Can you get me Admiral Yularan?" Anakin asks him, to which the comms are rerouted to the Resolute. "Admiral, we're at the breaking point. You've got to get some fighters down here." Anakin urges.
"You are in luck, General Skywalker. I just got hold of a single squadron. They will be there shortly." Yularan's voice comes through. Both Master Mundi, Anakin, and the rest of us jog the rest of the way to the landing zone, which was in chaos, until the whir of Y-Wing Bombers above us drew everyone's attention.
"Reinforcements! The reinforcements have arrived!" The men began cheering and pressed their attacks. Anakin, Ahsoka and I made our way to Obi-Wan, who seemed to be the most injured of the Jedi. We help him onto the gunship that would take him and Master Mundi back to the Resolute for medical treatment. But before they go, Master Mundi speaks up, after Anakin and Ahsoka argue a tie between each other.
"65." Master Mundi says.
"I'm sorry?" Anakin wonders, confused.
"My total. 65. So what do I win?" He asks.
"My everlasting respect, Master Mundi." Anakin replies.
"Oh." Master Mundi says, underwhelmed.
"That is a gift Anakin rarely bestows, I assure you." Obi-Wan inputs with a smile. The gunship doors then close as they lift off. For now, we could rest.
The next day. (At least that is how I'm gonna have it.)
A gunship then lands, and Master Luminara Unduli and her Padawan, Barriss Offee make their entrance. Anakin and Ahsoka were already debriefing the troops, with Anakin being his usual over-protective self, almost taking over Ahsoka's job. I walk over to Luminara and Barriss as they make their way towards the duo.
"They're waiting for you, in the usual manner." I inform them.
"At it again, are they?" Luminara asks, knowing full well what they were like.
"Again, Master?" Barriss asks confused.
"Anakin and Ahsoka have a brother/sister bond. They aren't much for regulation, and they often banter and fight." I explain. "You get used to it when you are with them most of the time. But I have something I want to try." I then walk ahead and make myself known. "ATTENTION!" I yell in close proximity to them, to which they jump and stand at attention. "Huh, I guess it does work. Look's like I owe Denal a hundred credits." I note, having not thought yelling attention at them would work. Luminara and Barriss move closer, and Barriss introduces herself.
"Well, now we are all introduced, shall we go turn these fuckers to dust?" I ask. Barriss raises an eyebrow at my language, as does Luminara. She knew me, and how I was, and it wasn't usual for me to swear, piking her curiosity, but the troops all smile, agreeing with the idea. "Alright. A frontal assault would be suicide. And I don't like putting our men on suicide missions, they are living, breathing people." I say. "But I have no other alternatives… at least that I can actually do with success."
"There is an alternative." Luminara begins.
"The catacombs, yeah, but I haven't been able to memorise them. It's not my strong point." I interrupt.
"Barriss has memorised all 200 junctions. She knows how to get through them." Luminara states simply, and my jaw hangs open.
"Fuck. That's impressive." I say, simply shocked.
"You always were thorough." Anakin says to Luminara.
"How do we keep the Geonosians occupied while someone else is setting the bombs?" Ahsoka asks.
"Diversion. You want to put the men at risk with a frontal assault?" I ask with anger.
"We will create a diversion while the Padawans plant the bombs." Luminara explains, ignoring me.
"WHAT?" Both Anakin and I ask in shock. My hand immediately goes to the lightsaber on my belt, but Ahsoka gently puts a hand on my shoulder, and looks at me with pleading eyes. She wanted to prove herself to Anakin. I sigh, and relax my arm. "Ok, this is one of the few times I will deny my own judgement. The Padawans have a better chance at success with the covert mission than going on a suicide assault. But I will be going with them." I say. "But I still don't like using our men as a diversion." I note.
"We'll be alright, sir. This is what we are meant to do." A trooper responds, to which I sigh.
"That doesn't mean it's easy to see so many of you die." I say gently. "But I don't control your choices." After synchronizing Chronometers, Ahsoka and Barriss and I head off to the cliff face. Barriss places a hand on the wall, moving along until she stopped, took out her lightsaber, and cut an opening to the catacombs.
"I should go in first. I know how to get through." Barriss advises.
"Be my guest." Ahsoka gestures for her to go ahead. As I entered, the whispers returned. They echoed the directions, which Barriss was guiding us through, until a sudden cry from the whispers gains my attention. I look around to find several Geonosians, asleep in their catacomb beds.
"They're sleeping." Barriss whispers to us.
"We have to find another way." Ahsoka says. The whispers, however, were saying to continue as we were.
"We don't have time. This direction is the fastest." Barriss argues.
"Maybe you're wrong." Ahsoka counters.
"No. The whispers agree with Barriss on this one, Ahsoka." I whisper to her.
"The what?" Barriss asks.
"I'll tell you later. For now, we need to get moving." I explain. Barriss then goes through first, silent in her steps, making it passed without sound. Ahsoka, equally silent, makes her way through, only for a Geonosian, in their sleep, to have a hand drop down on her montrals. I creep over to her, and as gently as possible, hold the hand above her, allowing her to move forward, before I let it drop and move on. Once clear of the sleeping Geonosians, Barriss speaks up.
"Left at the next junction." She advises us, only for the whispers to argue something else.
"I don't think so, Barriss." I say, and as the whispers continued, we followed Barriss to a dead end. On habit of listening to the whispers, I look up, where an opening lay in wait. "It's up." I inform them. I swear I see Barriss move to whisper something to Ahsoka, only for her to shake her head at whatever she was asking or talking about. With a quick jump, all of us change scenery from catacombs, to the droid factory itself.
"That's a lot of droids." Ahsoka remarks.
"Well, it is a droid factory." I note. "But yes, that is a lot." I add.
"Come on. The control room is this way." Barriss ushers us. Somehow undetected, at least from what we could tell, we enter the control room. "This is it."
"Get the charges placed fast." I warn them, and they both rush to do so. The whispers get louder, a warning in advance. "Something is coming." I warn, igniting the fallen General's lightsaber, it's azure glow illuminating some of the floor. The green light on the chronometer turns on, as the charges are activated, just as multiple Geonosians, along with a Tactical Droid, as well as what looks like a new tank, enter the control room.
"Fire!" The Tactical droid orders, and the laser cannons on the tank open fire on us. I am able to deflect the first shot at me, but the second grazes my upper cheek.
"Get down!" I warn Ahsoka and Barriss, who immediately duck down.
"You heard his highness. Collect their pathetic little bombs, then we kill them." The droid says, as the Geonosians begin removing the bombs, taking them with them. Ahsoka, having an extra bomb, throws it at the tank.
"See if your stupid tank can take this." She complains, throwing it onto the right laser cannons.
"Fool. The Super Tank is impervious to-" The droid is cut off as it is destroyed by the explosion, having been right next to the tank.
"The tank might be, but he sure wasn't." I note, deflecting another bolt of energy from the tank. Ahsoka then attempts to stop one of the Geonosians, only for it to throw her into a wall, knocking her unconscious. I rush over to her, making sure she was alright before defecting yet more bolts. "Barriss, find a way into that tank. It may be the only thing that can destroy this place now!" I call, to which Barriss jumps onto the front of the tank, and gets the hatch open, destroying the droids inside. Ahsoka begins to regain consciousness, and I help her into the tank, hopping in last. Barriss whispers something to her, and she opens a channel to Anakin.
"Master, can you hear me?" She asks.
"Ahsoka, set off the bombs!" He urges.
"We're trapped. I'm sorry, Master. We can't make it out." She informs him.
"Can't make it out? Ahsoka, wait!" He tries to stop her, only for her to cut the link. "Fire." She orders, and Barriss fires the rockets at the core, and an explosion covers our vision, before darkness, and movement. After a moment of stillness, I attempt to move my arms, with success. I reach for the lightsaber I keep, only to find it missing.
"Barriss? Ahsoka? Can you hear me?" I call into the darkness. A green and blue blade appear, lighting the inside of the tank. I see the lightsaber lying on the floor and pick it up. I try to ignite it, only for it to splutter and die moments after igniting.
"How deep do you think we are buried?" Ahsoka asks suddenly.
"I don't know." I admit. "But I don't think we should be thinking about that."
"Barriss, hand me that power cell, would you?" She asks, to which Barriss hands it to her. "Thanks. Mind holding the light?" She hands her lightsaber over.
"Whatever you're doing, I hope it works, because I'd sure rather have died fighting up there – than starve to death down here." Barriss comments.
"Don't worry. We'll run out of air long before we starve." I assure her.
"That's a comforting thought." Barriss notes. Ahsoka continued tinkering with her comlink, fiddling with the wiring.
"Master Skywalker has taught me a trick or two. I think I can get this communicator working." Ahsoka explains.
"What happens to us now doesn't matter. By destroying this factory, we've saved countless lives elsewhere." Barriss says, as though giving up.
"Well, I'm about to save three more." Ahsoka says, activating the comlink, its signal pulse beeping continuously. A few minutes pass, before we begin to hear digging, and then, light enters the tank, as we are freed from our burial. Anakin moves over to us, helping us out. "I knew you'd come looking for me." She says to him.
"I never doubted you for a second." Anakin replies, holding her close, their brother-sister bond showing. A sight no one would ever forget.
A FEW DAYS LATER
Anakin, Obi-Wan and Luminara had just returned from capturing Poggle. They were saying about brain worms and Anakin killing the specimen Obi-Wan wanted to study, but I didn't pay much attention to it. Ahsoka, Barriss and I were going to be heading to Ord Cestus, to collect medical supplies for Master Windu, currently battling droid forces on Dantooine. I had fixed General Di's lightsaber, and had it returned to my belt.
On board the frigate, I was anxious. The whispers were continuously warning me, but I didn't know why. They weren't speaking so I could understand them, simply whispering nonsense. After a few restless hours of trying to sleep, I get up and go to the mess hall, and try to ease the restlessness there, in the small bustling of troopers bound to be there. As I arrive, however, I was alone. Normally there would be at least five troopers in the mess at any time, but there were none. The door hisses open as Ahsoka and Barriss enter. They don't seem to notice me, which I was half grateful for… At least at first thoughts. Two troopers enter the mess, their blasters by their sides. The whispers were shouting at me now.
"Evening, Ox, Edge. Would you like to join us?" Barriss asks, before the troops could aim and open fire on them, I activate the lightsaber always by my side and throw it towards the troopers. The spinning saber hits its mark, decapitating both of the troopers without fail, embedding itself into the food collection bay as the bodies fell to the floor. While Barriss was shocked, Ahsoka was eyeing me curiously.
"Why would you do that, Vex?" Barriss asks in shock.
"No trooper ever brings their weapons into the mess hall, for one… Secondly, the whispers." I explain. Worm-like creatures then emerge from the heads of the two troopers, making their way towards us. Without thinking, I call the lightsaber back to my hand and slash at the worms, killing them and stopping them from infecting anyone else.
"What are those?" Ahsoka asks.
"I overheard Anakin, Obi-Wan and Luminara speaking about brain worms, and something about Anakin killing the one Obi-Wan wanted to study… by letting it take control of Luminara… something along those lines." I explain. Trap and another trooper then rush in to see what had happened.
"We heard yelling, what…" Trap trails off as he sees the severed heads. Ahsoka and Barriss ignite their sabers, but I hold a hand to stop them.
"He isn't infected. If he was, you would not be standing where you are, but instead trying to find cover." I say.
"Infected by what?" The trooper next to Trap asks. I gesture to the remains of the brain worms. "Oh. Yeah. That would probably be a reason for this." He then says, gesturing to the dead troopers.
"They are Geonosian Brain Worms. They take control of their vessels. Unfortunately, we don't know how to stop them without killing all the infected, and then killing the worms." I explain. "And contrary to what it may seem, Barriss, I don't like unnecessary deaths of the men who serve with us."
"We should make sure we are still in control of the bridge." Trap says, and has Havoc (There is something odd here… there are two Havoc's in the Clone Wars, this one, and the Arc Trooper, both are two different clones… Still keeping this note here) keep an eye out on the other troopers on the ship. When we reach the bridge, the security shields activate, blocking our entry.
"We need to get this door open." I say, but when I turn around, Trap has a dead look in his eyes, and I immediately un-holster my pistol, and shoot him between the eyes, his mouth hanging open with a worm trying to get out. I then ignite Di's lightsaber and slash it in half. "Well fuck. I don't want to keep doing this… they must have a weakness…" I trail off, as memories flash through my vision… It was something of a mix between what was happening, and biology. Parasites require something to live off, which would be a human vessel, but these things don't seem to need a vessel to live in. However, they all have an accustomed climate, like mosquitoes. Considering the climate of Geonosis, they might have a weakness to the cold.
"Vex? You with us?" Ahsoka asks.
"Yeah, just had an idea. Back where I am from, Parasites always need something to live off… And considering those worms were still alive after killing the hosts, they don't live off anything physical. If we take into account the climate of Geonosis and find the opposite, it might be their weakness." I explain.
"The cold." Ahsoka answers.
"Theoretically. It isn't an absolute, as it may not work, but it is the best option we have. However, we need to take into account the longest we can survive as is in temperatures below freezing." I add.
"So we may not even be able to do anything until a certain point." Barriss translates.
"Yeah… I can survive for a good hour, due to temperature training I did on Kamino, so we can assume the troopers can last about the same time period as well." I say.
"I can survive around 45 minutes." Barriss says.
"I can only do half an hour." Ahsoka says softly.
"Then we do it when there is 20 minutes left in the jump…" I say. "It's our only chance… For now, we need to get to the communication unit."
"Alright. Let's go." Ahsoka says. She leads us through the ship, and in no time, we reach the comms.
"Master Fisto, do you copy?" Barriss asks as the hologram fizzles into existence.
"I read you, Barriss." Kit Fisto's voice comes through.
"Master Fisto, we have a small issue… Brain Worms may have infected some of the crew, and since they tend to control their host, they are currently trying to kill us and make a new home." I say with a deadpan voice. "We believe the cold can render them useless, but we have a max survival time of 30 minutes… So when we arrive at the station, if you hear nothing from us, bring yourself on board to make sure it's safe, before quickly getting us into a med bay." Kit's face frowns at all the information.
"Are you sure you can hold out for that long?" He asks dubiously.
"If we can't, either blow the ship into space dust, or risk coming on board. If the latter, do it yourself when we arrive." I say.
"Always blunt. Very well, we will be waiting." He responds.
"Oh, and tell Anakin of the plan. He deserves to know, but we may be busy trying to not get a fucking worm up our noses." I say, before cutting the link. "Alright, now, we should barricade ourselves in the coolant room. We will rupture it at 0210 hours."
0150… 1:50 am, if you need clarification.
It was quiet. Ahsoka and I barricaded ourselves as planned; however, Barriss was somehow infected, so she was left outside… For some reason, the worm did not think of making Barriss cut through the door. Ahsoka was beside me, huddled close. In 20 minutes, we would rupture the coolant system, flooding the ship with freezing air. Each minute was agonising, as neither of us knew if it would work.
0205… 2:05 am
Five more minutes… then all hell would break loose… temperature wise at least. But all the anticipation disappeared when we heard the ignition of a lightsaber… and the blade protruding from the door. The worm finally realised it had a Jedi under its control
"Well… I guess it was bound to figure out it had a lightsaber eventually. Ahsoka, we'll have to rupture it now, or we may not get the chance." I say softly.
"I'm ready." Ahsoka replies gently. I disable the safety protocols, and turn off the heating systems, before slashing the controls, ensuring it could not be reversed. The ship likely wouldn't be used after this. Freezing air flooded the room and screams of half Geonosian and half-sentient echoed throughout the ship. I bring Ahsoka into a close embrace, sharing body warmth to ease her shivering, if only slightly.
"We'll be okay, 'Soka, we'll be okay." I say gently, stroking her montrals.
Time passed slowly, for me, as Ahsoka's shivering got worse. I curl her up, then curl myself around her. Her breath showing in a white hue. My mind kept returning to the thought of how cute she was, and how lucky I am to know her. She was as close to family as I had currently. Jazmin was still nowhere to be found, but I knew she was out there somewhere. I move my head closer.
"I love you, 'Soka. I love you so much. You are the world to me." I whisper, before the door hisses open, and Kit Fisto walks in. "I guess we made it. Thank you, Master Fisto. I'll go take a nap now, the cold always did make me sleepy." I say softly, as darkness takes me, covering me in its embrace.
I was back… the World between Worlds… Then I saw Ezra, and where he saved Ahsoka… Before an older me makes himself known… I see myself cloned, yet also not myself… I was someone else… I see a magnificent castle, the land it is on floating in it's own dimension… I see Asmodai, but up close, not in a game like back home… A blue crystal, singing its sad melody, as it's owner no longer exists, yet rejoicing in its holder… A lightsaber, a topaz yellow blade, and styled like that of a man of myth… then I see nothing… until the light of the med bay shines through my closed eyelids.
I open my eyes, and close them again, repeating a few times until my eyes adjust to the light. I turn my head to look beside me, and I see Ahsoka, laying down in her own cot. My mind fills in the gaps, and I slowly sit up. I then notice Anakin, nearby, resting.
"Anakin, what did I miss?" I ask, waking him up. He then looks at me tiredly.
"Other than worrying me to death, nothing." He says.
"She'll be fine, Anakin. If she wasn't, I would likely have myself punished with the loss of most of my limbs." I say honestly. Anakin then looks at his replacement arm.
"I'm not sure you would like that." He says sadly.
"Hence it being a punishment, Anakin." I say, before Ahsoka bolts upright in her cot. Anakin walks over and comforts her.
"Easy, Ahsoka. You're safe." He says gently.
"Barriss?" She asks.
"Barriss is fine. Thanks to you two. So are the troops." Anakin says.
"Not all of them. I killed three of them, Anakin, and it's not sitting well with me." I say sadly.
"You did it out of self-defence. You had a good reason." Anakin says, and I then drop the subject. "We'll have to inform the troops on Geonosis about the parasites. It may be how the Geonosians recaptured the planet the first time." And with that he left. Ahsoka soon went to sleep afterwards, but she muttered something so quiet I barely heard it.
"I love you too, Vex."
A/N – Updated. Kept most of this one as well. I will be adding some extra chapters later on and over time, to explain certain things. Ahsoka will ask Vex about his apparent Force sensitivity later on, but Barriss will have no memory of it… lets just call it an effect of the brain worms… Leave your thoughts, as I am dead serious in wanted advise. Remember, be blunt.