Landing the ship within the palace walls of the notorious Doge Urus of the Dugs' home world, Jupiter slid off the wing of her ship. "Take the ship back up to Admiral Tao, Roo, deliver him a message. Tell him I will be back soon." She said and Roo beeped back at her in answer before flying off into the sky. No sooner had she watched him leave, Jupiter sensed someone running towards her.
"Jupe! Thank the universe, you're okay!" As Jupiter turned a pair of arms crushed her into a hug, squeezing both the breath and life out of her as she was lifted off the ground, Anakin's familiar scent washing over her as she squeaked.
"Annie!" Anakin dropped her back onto her feet, releasing her only to pull her back into a secure embrace, tucking her against him and securing a hand to the back of her head as she blinked against his chest before finally, she relaxed and fixed her arms around him, returning his embrace. "I am sorry that I worried you."
"I hope so! Master Windu told me he found you frozen solid like ice when his rescue team finally reached you. You have no idea how worried I was about you, Jupe, I can't face losing you too." He said to her strictly with a tough tone but Jupiter merely smiled up at him as he pulled back, gripping her shoulders. Her hand brushed against his face before she gripped his chin, wiggling it from side to side to tease him.
"Ye have little faith, Annie, I knew someone would come for me." She reassured him before stepping back, observing her surroundings. "So what is happening? I notice you're a little outnumbered by the droids, they tried to shoot me down as I flew in." She stated bluntly and Anakin gave a laugh before he inclined his head, gesturing that she should follow.
"Come on, I'll explain on the way." Following after him Anakin led Jupiter up to the balcony were Doge Urus, a holoform transmission of Chancellor Palpatine, Master Windu and a scientist from the Senate, Dr Boll. Anakin had informed Jupiter about the intent to drop a new type of bomb on the droid army, one that will wipe them out without causing any harm to either the Dugs or the clones, however Jupiter was immediately sceptical.
"A weapon of this character that has never been tested to this degree before can only cause ill fated consequences." She announced as she walked onto the balcony to join Master Windu's side, making the chancellor start in surprise at the unexpected arrival.
"General Jupiter, what an honour to have you here with us and such a pleasure to see you fully recovered." He informed her and Jupiter gave him a respectful bow but only out of duty. She had never liked Palpatine, something about him always made her feel on edge whenever he was nearby. "But I can assure you, there is no need to be concerned. This is a historic day for the Republic." Jupiter arched an eyebrow, something that Anakin noticed and made him smirk, knowing that his sister only used that expression when she was disapproving of something but made no comment.
"I won't allow my people to become separatist slaves!" Doge Urus declared, turning around with a threatening glare at the chancellor who remained calm and respectful.
"I assure you, Doge Urus, that will not happen. Dr Boll has stated that only droids will be affected by the bomb's electron field." He informed, gesturing to the scientist who nodded her head, large eyes certain and confident in her own research.
"Yes, the clones and your people will be quite safe. We have accounted for every probable outcome." She told the leader with a sense of pride to her tone. In Jupiter's opinion, any scientist who was one hundred percent certain of their experiment was one not to be trusted, as they did not seem to consider the possibility of the impossible.
"It is the improbable that concerns me, doctor. There must be other options." Master Windu searched however the chancellor was adamant, though Jupiter was glad that her master seemed to share her views about such a dangerous and untested weapon, especially considering her own men were also down there.
"I'm afraid not. This bomb is our only hope for victory now." Seeing no way to dissuade them from proceeding, Jupiter settled for watching and preparing to act in case the worst should happen.
"The droids are on the move." Anakin warned and everyone went silent, watching as the bright flashes of red streaked across the battlefield from the droid blasters which were very quickly met with the bolts of blue from the clones. They were struggling to hold back the line as it continued to simply keep on advancing, more and more of both armies getting shot down even as the vulture droids were blasted out of the sky. "Tell the bombers to take off."
Jupiter glanced across to Anakin, a sting of nervousness tickling at her chest as she slowly drew in a breath then held it, watching as the fighter ships entered the battlefield, protecting the one that carried the bomb. Jupiter's anxiety increased. "Approaching drop zone."
"Remember, you've only got one shot at this." Anakin reminded the pilot, gritting his teeth slightly as finally, the bomb was released. Without meaning to Jupiter's hand jumped towards Anakin's, gripping onto it tightly where underneath the glove, she could feel his metal hand. For a moment he did not notice, however when he looked down and saw her gripping onto him, he turned his hand over to hold onto hers properly as finally, the bomb made impact.
Immediately a bright rush of light engulfed Jupiter's vision, swelling like a new star until suddenly the light intensified, shining brilliantly before it rushed back to its core and a blue sphere began to grow, electronic sparks jumping from the outer wall to the core as it began to engulf the entire droid army then surpassed them, shooting straight towards them. "Here it comes." Anakin warned, instinctively reaching over to shield Jupiter but she beat him to the chase, pulling him down and covering his head with her body as she automatically went to protect him.
The pulse passed over them harmlessly, however it caused all of their technology to short-circuit, even cutting off the chancellor. "I'm losing my transmission-!" When the sharp blue orb disappeared, Jupiter finally let go of Anakin who pouted at her.
"I'm not a little kid anymore you know." He mumbled, smoothing out his robes and running a hand through his hair as Jupiter merely smirked and winked at him, turning to look at the results. "Well, doc, looks like it worked." Of course, the moment Anakin had spoken, a huge circle cracked in the surface of the ground, a huge plume of dust shooting upwards. Jupiter shot Anakin a filthy look.
"You had to tempt the universe, didn't you?" She accused as Master Windu pointed towards the now rapidly increasing breakage in the ground.
"The ground is sinking." Without hesitation Jupiter held out both hands, lifting them slowly upwards as her eyes closed, concentrating on the Force as she lifted the nearby machinery and wounded soldiers as she could, biting on her lip as her body began to tremble from the strain however both Jedi looked to her in surprise as she accurately pulled them away from the sinkhole, her hands quickly moving as the Force guided her, showing her the way though she was not able to save everyone.
"I cannot hold all of them." She winced, gasping for breath until finally, her hands dropped and she gripped onto the balcony for support, the machines that she had pulled as far back as she could dropping heavily to the ground as the sinkhole spread further, the ground breaking and cracking until finally, it stopped. Anakin had his hands at Jupiter's sides, helping to keep her upright as he worriedly brushed back some of her hair.
"You're pushing yourself too far too soon, you only just recovered from almost freezing to death." He scolded her but Jupiter gave him a stubborn smile all the same. Sighing in exasperation and rolling his eyes, Anakin pulled Jupiter upright and helped her to steady herself. "Let's get everything back online, Artoo, we'll need to contact the chancellor immediately." He said, seeing that Master Windu was too preoccupied in his thoughts at the moment.
"I'll head down to see to the men, I would like to know how my legion suffered this rather…overzealous…attempt to defeat the Separatist droids." Jupiter said, glancing briefly over to the scientist before walking away, gracefully moving with ease as if she were made of air. It took a while to walk from the palace down onto the battlefield, however the moment people began to notice her approaching, several men called out to her, lifting their weapons in salute.
"General! General you're alive!" They eagerly rushed towards her and earned a broad smile from Jupiter as she halted, nodding to them all in greeting.
"Clicks, Hotwire, Cooper, it is good to see you all again." She said to them warmly, glancing them over. "Uninjured, I see, good. That's excellent news."
"A few scrapes here and there, sir, but nothing to be worried about." Cooper answered proudly, standing tall as several other figures began to flock towards Jupiter, drawn to her presence on the field of devastation that they stood upon.
"Glad to see you back, sir."
"The men have missed you being in command, it's not quite the same without you, general." Jupiter felt touched by all their words and well wishes, turning a circle as her men gathered towards her instinctually until Captain Rex appeared, ordering the men back to work before he stopped and saluted his superior.
"Rex, it is good to see you again." She greeted.
"Good to see you too, sir, the general was worried when he heard you were almost killed in action. We all were." Rex informed her with a truthful tone, making Jupiter chuckle until she noticed that he was favouring his right arm a little, making her look towards it and she noticed a deep graze between the shoulder guard and the rest of his armour.
"Rex, you were injured?" She realised then held out her hand expectantly.
"Just a scratch, sir, it's nothing really." He insisted but Jupiter gave him a look, hand still held outwards so he relented, extending his arm towards her and allowed her to inspect it closely. "I'll get it checked out soon enough, sir." Rex reassured her but Jupiter merely tittered her tongue with a shake of her head, lifting her other hand and rested it over the wound.
"This won't take a minute." She reassured him and sure enough, after a brief glow of light Rex felt a tingling warmth spread up his entire arm, making him wince slightly as he struggled not to laugh from the sensation until it died away, revealing a perfectly healed arm. "There, you see? Much better." She said simply before folding her arms. "Now if you would point me in the direction of the other wounded, I'd be glad to offer my assistance."
"Uh…right. Yes sir, right away sir." He snapped out of his astonishment, standing to attention and began to escort the general towards the medical camp they had already set up.
"And I am no sir, I am quite clearly a lady but Jupiter will do. Formality is not exactly my style." She insisted to him as they walked. Rex observed the Jedi beside him. Skywalker had often talked about her, telling him all about the stories of when they were children together and how she was his hero, always rushing to protect him from bullies and thugs until he was big enough to defend himself against the other kids. It was understandable why General Skywalker admired her so much, but now Rex was beginning to see why her men thought the universe of her. She cared very deeply for her troops and they felt that about her, which made them respect her in return.
Jupiter worked her way through the wounded, healing anything from minor injuries to life threatening lacerations, going through both clone and Dugs to ensure that as many as possible were saved. "General, someone here to see you." One of the medics informed and Jupiter looked up to see none other than Commander Keyes standing there, his helmet tucked under his arm looking tired from the long battle but he was secretly overjoyed to see his general again, looking so alive and well once more. The last he remembered, she had been frozen and floating almost like a ghost in that dark bridge, but now she looked warm and there was colour to her cheeks as she stood up, greeting him warmly.
"Keyes." She exhaled softly, glad to see him unharmed. "I became worried for a moment back there in that bridge. How about you?"
"Never doubted your crazy ideas for a second, sir." He answered and Jupiter let out a laugh, moving along the line to help heal the next soldier. "Should you be doing that, sir? You just got back from the medical station, I advise that you take it easy for a little while." He insisted with worry, hovering close to Jupiter as she healed the wounds on the unconscious trooper's face and body.
"Keyes, I have very rarely ever listened to your advice as I am notoriously obstinate. What makes you think that a near death experience will suddenly change my way of working?" She questioned him teasingly, resting her hand on the trooper's forehead and hushed him softly as he stirred, groaning and writhing slightly. "It's alright, you're safe. Rest." With a tap of her finger to his head, the clone fell straight back to sleep as Jupiter used the will of the Force to keep him under.
"Never the less, sir, I'll advise you all the same." Keyes responded diligently, stepping aside as he watched Jupiter work, wanting to be close to her. His chest was contorting with pain and he even considered informing the general that he might be internally wounded just so that she would reach out to him, however his better sense told him better and he kept silent.
"And I deeply appreciate your efforts, Keyes." She assured him as her willowy fingers hovered over a Dug, who blearily blinked at her so she gave him a heavenly smile that Keyes wished he could see every day for the rest of his life before she touched a finger to her lips and healed the Dug too. His eyes fell to her hair that cascaded down her back. It had grown incredibly long since he had first known her. The day they had met, it had only just touched her shoulders, now it was past her ribs in perfect straight strands.
Without realising, Keyes had reached out to touch it, his skin of his fingertips brushing against his general's hair before suddenly he froze. Jupiter had not noticed, focused on healing the Dug so Keyes quickly whipped back his hand, berating himself for being caught off guard. This was his superior, he should not be allowing himself to be so caught up in his own head. Turning his attention to the Dug instead, he watched as it placed an elongated hand over Jupiter's, weary and bleary eyed but managed to whisper something before he fell asleep.
"What did the Dug say?" He asked, wanting to fill the silence that had occurred between them.
"He said thank you." She responded, flexing her fingers and rubbing her hands as she looked down the long line of soldiers still being carried over. "I must continue here, Keyes, carry on as you were, I am sure there are other things that you need to be doing instead of trying to supervise me." Her eyes glinted humorously as a smirk touched her face. "I assure you, I will not get into any more trouble here."
"If you say so sir." Keyes answered, giving her a strict salute which Jupiter returned with an incline of her head before she turned and continued the work she had started. Keyes watched her walk away, exhaling slowly as he tried to gather his thoughts as, unbeknownst to him, Captain Rex walked up behind him and stood sternly observing him. He had been watching Keyes and how he had acted around his superior and he did not approve, which he was about to be made known.
"General Jupiter is your superior officer, Keyes." He announced, making Keyes spin around and quickly salute.
"Sir!" Rex's gaze hardened, giving a stern look to the seasoned soldier. They had been grown in the same batch together, however they had been on different squads during training.
"Whatever it is you feel, or you think you feel, you had best get a grip on yourself, soldier. This is a war and furthermore, the general is a Jedi. They are not allowed to form attachments." He iterated harshly, however Rex felt he was being cruel to be kind. The sooner someone slapped some sense into Keyes, the sooner he could begin to forget about ever imagining himself winning General Jupiter's favour.
"I know that sir." Keyes answered, gritting his teeth darkly. "Believe me, it keeps me awake at night but I can't help it. We're not just clones, we are human no matter what other people believe, which means we are capable of human emotions too." He answered before he pointed directly at the general, none the wiser as to what was going on. "The general has given me purpose, a reason to live and I'm going to hold onto that until the day this war ends. She treats us as people, as individuals, sir, so you should know how much that means to clones like us." Rex was surprised with the intensity of which Keyes defended himself and his feelings, however he still could not allow them to continue.
"Easy there Keyes." He warned, narrowing his eyes. "Unless you wake up from this fantasy of yours, I'll have to have you transferred to a different regiment so that you can get your head sorted!" Keyes fell silent knowing better than to argue back. "You'd better watch yourself from now on and don't go crossing any lines, I'll be keeping a close eye on you." Rex cautioned, the two glowering at one another before finally, Keyes took a step back and slowly saluted.
"As you command, sir." Nodding his head, Rex dismissed him and sent him on his way. Releasing the tension he was carrying only after Keyes was gone, Rex returned his helmet to his head, securing it before he too went to see to orders.