Crossing Battlefields

by KaitiJo

(CW TV AU) Against a backdrop of war, Anakin and Analise fight. They fight for their sister as she grows up in battle, they fight for friends old and new, they fight for their family, they fight for the Jedi and the Light. As war rages and Darkness grows, the Sun and Moon must find the power hidden inside themselves. The power that will defeat the Sith.

37. Chapter Twenty-Two:The Greatest Scarfice

Disclaimer: Disney owns Star Wars, not me. All the characters and places (except for my OC Analise) belong to them.

"aaaa"-talking out loud. "aaaa" (bold and italics)-talking through a holo or com.'aaaaa'-inner thoughts. aaaaa-talking through a Bond. "aaaa" (bold)-talking in another language. ("aaa") (bold, italics, and parenthesis)-talking through a holo or com in another language.

AN: I'm back:) LOL

Thank you to StoryCreek for the review on Why?-An Anakin and Analise Side-Story. Why? is truly just a one shot. I post shorter chapters called interludes within Crossing Battlefields and those serve as my breaks from the more intense writings. I might use your idea in the future towards the end of Crossing Battlefields (I think I already know where I will put it). As for using Analise in your own story, feel free. Just remember to give credit where credit is due please. Thanks for asking:)

Thank you to Darth Becky 726 and Guest for the reviews. I promise more Obi-Wan and Anakin moments are coming, but I can't give too much away about the future Guest:)

Things might be a little tricky with posting it is now getting into the home stretch at the Halloween Store. We are heading into our busiest days which means I will be working more days during the week 10am-4pm which will cut into my writing. I will do my best, but the next two or three chapters might be late getting posted.

Plus...OMGosh! Rebels!

Last time we saw our heroes they were faced with the task of breaking through Geonosian defenses to launch an attack on the droid factory. On this week's episode with Analise and Obi-Wan on the Resolute for healing, Anakin and Ahsoka must team up with Luminara and her Padawan. Separated to complete the mission, Anakin and Ahsoka each finding themselves confronting a possibility that could spell the end for one of the pairs...

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-No gift is more precious than trust- Weapons Factory, Clone Wars Season Two

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Greatest Sacrifice

"Captain land us south of General Skywalker's postion. It is the only place safe enough to make such a landing."

"Yes General Unduli." Hidden almost in the shadows behind her Master, Barriss Offee tilted her head. Those who might not know the Mirialan Master might read her as being cool, calm, collected. Everything a proper Jedi should be even as they raced towards a dangerous battlefield that had been proven to be more than deadly.

Barriss was different. Barriss could read her Master's emotions nearly as easily as she could read a holobook.

Beneath the calm and cool exterior; Luminara was for lack of a better word, excitied. It was as if the Master was actually looking forward to something or someone down on the planet's rough surface. She didn't know who or what though had gotten her Master's attention.

This was odd for her Master. Luminara had been a strict, proper teacher. Caring towards Barriss and open to the changes within the Order, but still deferring to the old ways when it came to training her Padawan. Carefully chosen since Luminara had wanted a Mirialan like herself to pass down the traditions their people kept even within the Order and even then the Master had spent hours in meditation to be sure Barriss was the one.

Barriss soaked in everything Luminara had to teach her, transforming herself into the very image of a traditional, old-way Jedi Padawan. She had even turned down the Council's offer to be Knighted after the Clone Wars had started. Barriss had claimed that she wasn't ready, but she was ready. It was just that eighteen wasn't a proper age to become a Knight.

"Barriss?" At long last, well it felt like long last to the Padawan, Luminara called her name. Barriss wiggled her way through the men, making a face hidden by the hood of her short cloak. These men...These Clones were simply not proper and Barriss preferred to keep them at arms length when not on-duty. Luminara on the other hand had started to befriend the men. Something else that confused her student. "I know I needn't worry, but I will ask. Have you made all the perpetrations needed for our mission on the planet."

"Of course Master Luminara." Had she been a lesser being, Barriss might have been offended, but she understood. This was war and even a Jedi might loose track of a thing or two in the middle of all the chaos. "I took care of them just as you instructed me to." She curtsied to her Master who glanced over her shoulder and smiled.

"Good...I can't wait for you to meet Ahsoka, Anakin's Padawan." The Master chuckled to herself. "She's a little spitfire and very friendly. You would do well to get to know her Barriss." Luminara could sense her Padawan's confusion and understood. She had once been devoted to the old ways even as she nodded her head towards the changes brought by the Skywalker twins.

Working with Ahsoka though, meeting her siblings and seeing first hand the good things the twins had started within the Order; well Luminara just couldn't stay the same. She was still the same poised Jedi that she had always been, but now she could see the galaxy with eyes wide open and clear.

She wanted the same for Barriss who seemed to only embrace the old and not the new.

"Alright men!" The voice of Luminara's Captain rang through the gunship. "Check yourselves and buckle up those belts. We're heading in for a bumpy ride!"

The gunships raced fast and low over the planet. Kicking up dust to cover the bodies of dead bugs, fallen men, and destroyed ships.

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'Don't be nervous Ahsoka...Don't be nervous...'

That was proving to be somewhat hard. Eyes all the same shade of brown stared at her from matching tan faces with only vastly different and sometimes wild hair or tattoos or markings on armor to tell them apart. Behind her Anakin hovered, watching her every move as she stood before Artoo who was serving as their portable holoprojector. She had done briefings before, but always someone else had been there in charge and leading it. Ahsoka had never done one where she was in charge.

"Alright men, this bridge is going to be our first way-point." She glanced up as the holo of the factory and the area around it flickered. Her fingers pointed out the long bridge that would be the only way to cross the small canyon to the factory without massive amounts of climbing. The men held no judgement in their faces. Their eyes were glued to the holo, the information clearly making it into their brains. Ahsoka relaxed a little, finding her groove. "So that means we need to focus our guns on these two gunning placements." The gunning placements lit up a bright red. "Focus most of the fire at these two locations because..."

"Because until we take out the guns, we won't be able to make a direct attack on the factory itself."

"Hey! I was just going to say that..."

Well...Anakin was suppose to stay quiet. He ignored his Padawan's sputtered outrage at his interruption as he stepped up next to her.

It wasn't that Anakin didn't think Ahsoka could do the briefing...He just wasn't ready to see his baby sister taking on more and more responsibility as both a Commander and a Jedi. If the Order show just how much mature Ahsoka was becoming as a Jedi and Commander, he doubted that they would think twice about her age and promote her as quickly as they dared.

It had happened when the Clone Wars had broken out. Anakin, Analise, and Obi-Wan had found themselves young and suddenly promoted to ranks that should have been a few years off. It was still happening. Knights became Masters, Senior Padawans became Knights, Padawans became Senior Padawans, and younglings became Padawans. The slow growth the Order had been experiencing had now halted, stalled by the war and the desperate need for Jedi across the galaxy.

That would not happen to his Snips.

The Padawan in question growled low in her throat as the men began to chuckle and make soft jokes about Anakin butting in and taking charge. "General Skywalker is right..." The words slipped out from between clenched teeth. She knew that her anger at him were leaking across their Bond. She could see the way his body tensed as the sour emotion hit him. Good...She wanted him to know how she was feeling because he interrupted her. "We can make a push for the factory, but that doesn't mean it will be easy. Except the droids and bugs to put up some stiff resistance..."

"And don't forget to top off your supplies. That includes stocking up on ration packs and energy cells. Once we leave here to start the attack, we won't be stop to resupply." He nodded towards the men before glancing over his shoulder at the fuming Togruta behind him. Her checks puffed out and lips pursed in clear anger that her briefing had been taken over. "Anything else to end Snips?"

"No..." She did her best not to glare him down. Not only had he taken over her briefing, he had called her Snips and not Commander! "You covered everything I was going to cover in my briefing." Ahsoka stressed the last two words, ending with a small hiss as Artoo switched off the holo.

"Okay...Well men you're dismissed. Get ready for the long haul." He and Ahsoka choose to ignore the men as they went away chuckling, some of them not so softly debating about what nearby positions would be best to watch the upcoming sibling war without it being too obvious that's what they were doing. "What's next on the agenda Ahsoka?" He began to march away from the holoprojector, Ahsoka stomping alone behind him.

"Oh...I don't know...How about making sure my briefings run better by you not interrupting them? I mean you do it every sing..."

"I wasn't interrupting Snips." Anakin turned, still walking a little. "I was just helping you get the message across."

"Well maybe it would be better if you didn't interrupt me to help. I sure would appreciate that." Ahsoka rolled her eyes when she said help making it clear, even though Anakin couldn't see the gesture, that she didn't believe at all that he was trying to help. "You know what? It's trust...You don't trust me to do the briefings."

Anakin stopped and half-turned sharply. "It's not about trust Ahsoka. I do trust you to give briefings." How could she doubt his trust in her? He trusted her to the very ends of the galaxy and back. This wasn't about trust. This was about keeping her remarkable talents as a military leader under the radar so that she wouldn't be promoted too far too soon. He had been regretting for ages even suggesting that she be an official Commander so soon after she became his Padawan. "This is about the ability to get the job done right."

"Ahha!" Ahsoka marched up to him and jabbed a finger into his chest. "See! There's my proof! You don't trust me to get the job done right!"

Ahsoka...

No! No I get it...Really I do. You're the Master and the big brother. I'm just the lowly baby sister and Padawan...Behind her Anakin winced as she started to stride away.

'Force I'm starting to understand the whole may your Padawan be just like you thing...Was I ever like this? Something tells me that I owe Obi-Wan a lot of apologies.'

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"Greetins General Unduli."

"Greetings Captain are you and your vod'e doing? I heard that the landing was rough" Barriss stepped alongside her Master as the woman exchanged pleasant greetings with the Clone Barriss had yet to met so she tuned out her Master and the Captian.

Not that it really mattered to Barriss. She clung tightly to those teachings of Master Windu from when she was younger. She was a Jedi. She kept the peace, she was not a warrior. To Barriss, that's what the Clones were. Warriors and since they had chosen to live such violent lives, she really didn't see a point in getting to know them. Sure there were a few Clones she was close to, could even call friends. But Barriss didn't see the point in reaching out her hand to all of them when a good chunk of the men would be killed during the next battle or two and replaced by more men who would die just as quickly.

If Master Luminara knew what thoughts raced through her Padawan's mind...Well Barriss knew that she would be lectured and scolded for her lack of Jedi compassion or understanding or acceptance. Barriss didn't see it as a lack of any of that, just reality and reality was harsh.

"General Skywalker is waiting for you with Commander Tano-Skywalker." Barriss broke herself free from her thoughts as Luminara nodded and strode forward up a sandy hill where a tall figure and a short figure were going toe-to-toe. But Barriss could hear no sounds. No voices raised in anger. Luminara shook her head and chuckled.

"Poor Anakin...Ahsoka must be giving him a run for his credits."

"Master?" Barriss glanced at her Master from the corner of her eye. Ever since Luminara had been assigned to the failed mission of escorting Nute Gunray to Coruscant, she had been different. The Padawan's eyes shifted to the smaller figure, a Togruta female whose stance with arms crossed was sending a clear signal of being unhappy. This was the Padawan Luminara had been paired up with and it was this Padawan whom Luminara claimed had not only saved her life, but had taught her a valuable lesson.

Barriss didn't see it.

The Master shook her head. "You will know Padawan that Ahsoka is not just Master Skywalker's Padawan, but also his younger sister. This means they share a unique Bond and some of the same habits." She chuckled again as the silent argument stopped and the pair resumed verbal sparring. "Master Skywalker plays fast and loose with rules and regulations. Ahsoka does the same and it drives him crazy." She studied Barriss. Since the war started she had become worried for her Padawan. "Watch them carefully Barriss you might learn something."

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"Well if you don't think I can handle myself as a Commander, why don't you send me back to the Temple?" Ahsoka, forgetting her age stomped her foot. "I'm sure I can't mess up working with the babies."

"Don't tempt me Ahsoka Tano-Skywalker or I will send you back to the Temple until you mature a little bit!"

"Has peace been declared then?" The familiar voice rang out when it became clear that Ahsoka had nothing to say in the face of Anakin's threat. They turned as Luminara and Barriss joined them. The Master wore a smirk and the Padawan a confused face. "If it has, than maybe we can refocus our attention. There is a factory we need to destroy...Oh before I forget." An elegant and tattooed hand waved at Barriss. "Barriss introduce yourself."

"Yes Master...I am Barriss Offee, Senior Padawan at your service Padawan Tano-Skywalker." Ahsoka gazed at the curtsying and older Padawan before casting a helpless look between the two Masters who were now both smirking. In the face of a traditional and formal greeting, she was at a loss.

Just be yourself Snips.

Ummm...Okay...She bent forward, clasping her hands around Barriss' elbows and tugging the other Padawan up until she was standing again. "You don't have to do that. I mean I don't when we're just out here." She waved around at the bustling Clones and dusty planet. "You don't have to call me Padawan Tano-Skywalker either. Only Uncle Mace or Grandda call me that and they don't even do it that much. You can call me Ahsoka and I'll call you Barriss." Ahsoka smiled, sure that she had found a fellow victim with whom she could bound over with about their strict Masters. "I'm sure we'll be friends." She turned to Luminara with a bright smile and Barriss was shocked to see her Master return it.

Did Luminara actually like or even care about this Padawan to a reckless Master?

"It is good to see you both again." Anakin nodded to include Barriss. She was only a couple years younger than he was. She and Luminara had replaced Analise on the mission to Anison just before the war had started. He hadn't been shocked when Barriss had requested more time before becoming a Knight. There was just something about her...Something that he couldn't put his finger on...

"It is Anakin, it is...I just wish it was under better circumstances. How is Analise and Obi-Wan?"

"Well and hopefully resting though if what Analise is beaming to me when I check on them is any indication, Obi-Wan is probably driving the droids in the med-bay mad." He tapped the side of his head and Barriss cocked her head to one side confused.

There was just so much she didn't understand.

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"A frontal assault Anakin?" Luminara's fingers stroked her tattooed chin as she studied the image of their upcoming battlefield. "That's an awful big risk, near suicidal." She shook her head, the fabric of her headdress snapping softly. "We could be looking at more men that won't be coming home with us."

'Losses,' Barriss muttered to herself in her head. The Clones were living, thinking, feeling beings yes; but they weren't born. They were created in test tubes, bought and sold by the Kaminoans to the Republic. They didn't even have any real standing as Republic citizens, though she knew many in the Order and Senate were trying to change that. Until that changed, to Barriss the men who died were just losses, numbers to be added to some official list and never thought of again.

"We will loose a lot of men yes Master Luminara." Barriss' face twitched as Anakin casually addressed her Master, though Luminara took no notice of it. The Padawan just couldn't understand why Luminara, who sat on the Council and ranked higher than Anakin was even allowing the Knight to argue with her. Clearly Liminara had the better knowledge. "But think of the vod'e we will loose if we don't take that factory down. It won't be a hundred, it will be thousands." Though Barriss did admit that his argument bore a good point.

"I think there is a way to bring the factory down and avoid the high number of men lost to the droids. We need to fight this on two fronts." Luminara nodded to Artoo who added what looked like a tangle mess of giant roots to the image under the factory. "These here could be out secret to victory. Scans of the planet have shown that every building built here on Geonosis also have catacombs built underneath them for the Geonosians that run deep under ground." She nodded to Barriss and she squared her shoulders back as she pointed out two longer roots that touched the cliff wall under the factory.

"These paths here touch the cliff so we could simply create a hole to get into the catacombs." A red dot appeared and began to trace a path through the twisting maze.

"That would allow us to use the catacombs to our advantage by traveling through them to the factory's main reactor. We plant explosive devices and set them off. The resulting explosion would be enough to bring down the main factory." A part of Barriss bristled when Luminara interrupted her, but she simply stepped back and looked hard at the hologram.

She knew how good she was. She didn't need her Master's praise to assure her of that.

Anakin chuckled a little to hide his unease. "That's a massive maze Master Luminara. It's a good plan, but also a good way to get lost."

"For those who aren't prepared yes, but as soon I got the scans of the factory I had Barriss memorize the layout. She knows all two hundred junctions."

"As always I am impressed Master Luminara," Anakin bowed his head to the Master. "You were always very thorough even when I was just a young man on Ansion." The Master smiled and nodded at the offhanded compliment.

"It pays to be prepared Anakin, something I hope you took away from our short partnership. Barriss certianly has picked up on it."

"Yes I have," she quickly chirped. "Master Unduli says you must always be prepared, espcially when other beings have their lives depending on your successful actions."

"I have a question?" As though they were in class at the Temple, Ahsoka raised one, thin arm into the air before lowering. "I don't think the Geonosians will simply overlook us blowing a hole into the catacombs and climbing through them. Do we have a plan to keep them busy while the bombs are getting set up?"

"That's a good point Snips, just like Analise." The Togruta seemed to beam as Anakin praised her for her simple question and Luminara smiled at her. Barriss shook her head a little in awe. Why were they so proud of her? She was only a young Padawan, barely a year into her service even if she was a Commander. Really Ahsoka should only be speaking when told to and her question was a rather silly one. Yet Ahsoka was being praised for being smart like Analise. Barris clenched her fists a little and quickly released the negativity into the Force. "We need to keep the focus away from the person planting the bombs."

"Exactly, which is why you and I Anakin will follow your plan for a frontal assualt on the factory. Ahsoka and Barriss will be more than able to plant the bombs."

"Hold on a mynock minute!" Barriss jumped a little as the Knight nearly roared in shock. "Who came up with the plan? Going into the catacombs, sneaking into the reactor; that's even more suicidal than a frontal assualt." He sounded...He sounded almost afraid for the Padawan at his side.

Which Barriss guessed made a little sense. After all they were recognized as brother and sister even though they were two completely different species. Rumors ran rampant at the Temple that a fast way to cross either of the Skywalker twins was to pick on their baby sister or put her in some sort of danger.

"Master..." Ahsoka hissed between her teeth and Barriss watched in fascination as the markings on her face wrinkled and her eyes narrowed as she glared at the human male. "I want to do this...You need to let me do this." She planted her hands on hips. "You know kriffing well that I've had a lot more tougher and dangerous missions than just sneaking past some bugs!"

"Then maybe, but you were prepared then," the Knight pushed back through gritted teeth. "Barriss is prepared for this, you're not."

'And that is that,' Barriss thought both relieved and regretful. She truly wanted to know this Padawan and try to figure out just what made her so special that her rebellious nature was overlooked and was seemingly praised for it. However she was far too young to be an actual Padawan and her rebellious nature would no doubt slow her down in the catacombs...

"You have nothing to fear Anakin." Barriss' eyes jerked to the back of her Master's head in shock. Surely her Master wasn't going push for Ahsoka to join her in the catacombs. She knew Ahsoka had worked with Luminara before, but surely the younger Padawan's amazing and almost unbelievable actions were the results of extreme circumstances. "I have every confidence in Barriss' dependability. They will both be fine." The last word was stressed and Barriss quickly nodded her head.

"Yes...Master Unduli is right. Ahsoka and I will be in and out as quickly as possible and without alerting the enemy."

"See Skyguy?" Ahsoka cocked one hip to the side and smirked up at her Master and brother. "Barriss will protect me so nothing bad will happen to me." She crossed her arms. "I think we both know by now that when it comes down to it, I can follow orders." The response was a loaded blaster, one Barriss noted that Anakin wasn't touching.

"Alright then. It is decided."

"Yes...I guess it is decided." Barriss could see Anakin's jaw was clenched and he held himself stiff as he stared blankly at the holoprojector. Luminara ignored him as she handed Ahsoka a pack full of explosives then handed the girls each a chronometer. Ones that matched what Anakin and Luminara both wore on their wrists next to their coms. "Here, we'll monitor your progress and the time with these. Sync them to my mark." The Master, Knight, and Padawan lifted their wrists, fingers hovering over the chronos as Luminara counted down. "3...2...1...Mark!"

The chronos beeped and flashed green, the time already counting down.

Ahsoka gave Anakin a grin as she hugged him. "Don't worry Skyguy. I'll be back soon! Come on Barriss. I'll follow your lead!"

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Love ya big brother!

Love ya too little sister...Anakin watched the Padawans race through the camp, dodging crates, vehicles, and men on their way to bust into catacombs that in Anakin's mind were filled with Geonosians. Bugs that would be deadly mad if they caught his baby sister and Luminara's Padawan.

Something felt off about the whole thing, but when Anakin tried to chase after it...It just slipped through his fingers. "What's wrong?" He could feel Luminara's eyes on him, sense her gentle prodding of his heavy shields. Anakin thanked the Force that she couldn't read auras like Analise or she would know just how close he was to ruining everything by chasing after Ahsoka and dragging her back to the small safety of their camp. "I doubt you're worried that Ahsoka isn't ready for this no matter what you say. I know you know just what she can do."

"You're right, that's not why I'm worried."

"Then what is it?"

"A feeling...Something..." He shook his head and turned to the Master, giving her a half-smile before returning to Artoo who beeped softly as he continued to project the map of the battlefield into the air. "It's nothing to dwell on now Master. We need to get the men ready for the battle." Her eyes still studied him before he sensed more than heard her sigh.

"Whatever we do, it will have to be bold." Luminara worried for her Padawan. Barriss was good, eager to learn, loyal and obident to the old ways. But that obedience and loyalty had turned her Padawan into a being who had trouble bending and seeing new ways, new ideas. Luminara had been like Barriss until meeting the Skywalker siblings and their family poked holes into her bubble of comfort. She hoped that Ahsoka would show Barriss that the new ways weren't something to take with a gain of salt. They were something to embrace. "We need their attention on us, not Ahsoka and Barriss."

"And my plan will make sure of it." Artoo added Clones and tanks to the projection, marching across the bridge. "It may be near suicidal and cost us a lot, but the best way to keep all eyes on us is by marching right across their bridge parade style. There's no way the bugs will want to miss out on an easy target."

"We'll have no cover..."

"I know, but we need to be tempting to get them out of the factory."

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Beady black eyes glared at the flickering red holo of the droid foundry and the land around it. The cane in his long-digited hand served more as a symbol of his rank than as an actual aid to help him walk. The tapping it made on the stone floors sounded eerily like the clicks used in his native tounge. A tounge that not even droids could seem to replicate. He thanked the Great Queen for that. The Geonosian language was not something to be butchered by non-native speakers.

"My Lord, I have good news." Poggle the Lesser eyed the imported T-series tactical droid, TX-21. This was not a droid put together in their factories to be shiped out all over the Confedercy. No, TX-21 had been sent to Geonosis as a gift from Count Dooku when Poggle had been forced to report that the Republic knew of their newest and grandest droid factory. Poggle didn't like TX-21, but for the sake of winning, he would deal with the overly fancy and programmed droid. "The factory is already operating at fifty percent capacity and that is rising. As such we have ten droid garrisons that are ready to be deployed..."

"The Jedi cut down droids like trees! Those ten garrisons are worthless. What about the super tanks? Are any of those ready to be deployed?" Poggle felt some satsifaction in watching TX-21's head bow, the droid's silent signal of apology.

"No my Lord...The super tanks have not yet been completed to satisfaction and remain off-line...But they will be ready soon and when they are we will bring the Republic forces to their knees." Holding up a metal hand, TX-21 clenched his fist. "That heavy armor is key my Lord. Nothing the Republic has will be able to put a dent in it."

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Parade formation.

The name meant just what it sounded like. It was the formation the GAR took when they marched through Republic worlds where they war hadn't even fired a blaster. The men would be in armor polished that when they hit the bright light, the white hurt the eyes of those watching. The AT-TEs would move smoothly with no hisses, squeaks, or popping. Their guns would be at rest against their shoulders and they would stare at the back of the vod's head in front of them, ignoring the wild cheers of beings who would only hear about the war and see the family-friendly polished images on the holonet.

This was no parade though. Their guns were cocked and ready, their hands grasping around the barrels as their fingers twitched close to the triggers. Very few of the men wore armor that had not been stained with the dirt of Geonosis, some had the faint red stains left behind from vod'e they had held in their arms. The AT-TEs plodded along, their feet heavy and slamming into the ground with each slow and steady step even as wires popped in and out of place.

At the front of the parade, Anakin and Luminara's faces were grimly set as the doors of the factory opened and droids marched out in their own parade, their own weapons at the ready and the army in their sights. "Alright, here come the droids...Everyone keep steady...Steady..."

Luminara's gaze stole to the edge of the bridge where she could almost see over the edge and her frown deepened. Worry ate at her even as she tried to release it into the Force, knowing that when the battle started she could not divide her focus. "Ahsoka and Barriss should have made it to the other side by now." The canyon had never looked bigger to her eyes. "I hope they've made it by now."

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Ahsoka felt the gentle prodding at her shields and she lowered them. A soft caress ran over the Bond she had with her brother and for a moment she closed her eyes, savoring it. She felt all his love, drinking it up as thirsty plant would drink water. There was a quiet apology and a vow that he would be better and that she better come back safe and sound.

Everything Anakin sent to her as she clung to the side of the canyon wall, climbing down inch by inch she sent back to him. She wrapped her Force Signature as tight as she could in that moment around his. She didn't want to let go. Something felt off and Ahsoka just knew that Anakin could feel it too.

Slowly, slowly they unwrapped themselves from their hug and slowly, slowly pulled their shields back up.

Both their objectives were dangrous.

They could afford no distractions.

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"That sure looks like a lot of droids..." Luminara arched one delicately plucked eyebrow as her electric blue eyes gazed out their corner at Anakin. Apparently he was determined to take Obi-Wan's place as the King of Dry Wit.

"Of course there are a lot of droids Anakin. This is a droid factory after all." The calmness of her voice, the warmth of tone would have been more at home attending a formal tea or dinner event among the highest of elite.

That was a Jedi though. Even at the start of a battle that would erupt in blaster fire, hissing lightsabers, shouted commands, muttered curses, and yelping cries of pain; a Jedi acted as though they were at a party.

"It doesn't matter Master as long we can keep taking them apart faster than they can build them." Luminara laughed softly and shook her head.

"As always Anakin, your simple logic makes me happy. I love it."

"Anytime Master. Heads up...It's time!" Blue and green blazed to life in their hands as the droids across from them began to fire.

Lightsabers waving in the air, the Master and Knight charged forward with their men surging at their back.

Their roles were still being played and they would play them with every ounce of strength.

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"Do not waste your energy in trying to push them back. Let them move forward and fall into the trap we have set."

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As always, Rex was impressed as he watched the Jedi fight. They made every move seem so effortless, so seamless even as they took the droids head-on and left them in pieces.

In between firing he would watch them, could just make them out as he trailed closely behind. Anakin reached out and wrapped the Force around a droid, pulling it towards him and impaling it on his blade. General Unduli seemed to like the idea as she too started to pull droids to her on unseen ropes, slicing through one before dicing through the two or three who rushed forward in what had to be some suicidal flight of fancy to save the caught tin-can.

There was just one person missing...Suddenly fear and worry rose in the Clone Captain and he tightened his grip on his blaster.

No! He couldn't think about her. Not in the middle of a battle. She would want him to stay focused on the task at hand.

Later...Later he would worry over her, join in with the other vod'e in fussing over her which she would protest before sitting and taking it like a good solider because she knew it would do no good. She knew...Ahsoka knew that after all the deaths they would see he and his brothers needed to fuss over her.

Gritting his teeth Rex started blasting and blasting and blasting away droids. Ahsoka meant something to him. She meant something to all the men, though what she meant to them was starting to differ from what she meant to him.

Rex shoved the fear and worry aside. She needed him to do his job so that she could do hers.

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"They have come far enough...Begin the attack!"

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They came with very little warning.

The bugs came from overhead, from towering structures of sand and rock behind them. With their cone-shaped sonic blasters they came and they began a rampage against the army.

They were, for lack of any better term, surronded and slowly becoming outmatched.

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The Padawans could just make the battle overhead. Could just faintly hear the pounding of AT-TEs and the hum of blaster bolts as they sliced through the air.

Barriss saw the way Ahsoka's body tensed, the way her head tilted up to gaze with steely eyes up at the bridge. The way the junior of the pair acted made Barriss wonder just how strong the Bond between her and Master Skywalker was. She had heard the rumors that they shared not a Training Bond, but a Natural Bond...

For a moment as they darted across the canyon, and Barriss was pleased to see that Ahsoka after a moment refocused her attention, the Senior Padawan wondered what a Natural Bond would be like. If perhaps it would be a better option to foster so that she could be better...

As they reached the other side, Barriss banished the thought from her head. Training Bonds had been used by the Jedi for generations and if they were good enough for some of the most legendary of their Order, then they were good enough for her. Some of the newer ways were better Barriss would admit, but that didn't mean changing everything.

She placed her hands on the rock wall as Ahsoka stood guard. Closing her eyes slightly, Barriss reached out with the Living Force searching for the perfect place to slice into the catacombs. She took her time, though they had no time. She wanted to be sure.

A part of her, a small part of her wanted this to be perfect. Wanted to take charge and lead the way so that she could be given credit. So that praise would ring in her ears. She wanted it...And it was not the Jedi way.

"Here...We need to cut here..." Without waiting Barriss powered up her lightsaber which shimmered a deep ocean blue and plunged into the cliff face. With one hurried, but smooth and deep stroke she cut a rectangle into the side. She didn't give Ahsoka a chance to help as she yanked out the heavy rock with a hard tug on the Force and let it fall to the ground.

"Wow!" Barriss switched of her lightsaber and dusted off her hands as some small amount of pride filled her at Ahsoka's hushed admiration. It was only proper since she was older than the Togruta. "That was really cool." Together the pair peered into the shadowy passage that had been revealed. It smelled damp, of bugs and even a little blood. Cool air rushed at them and Barriss was grateful that there was some light to allow them to see. "Well..." Ahsoka seemed to hesitate for just a moment before squaring her shoulders and rising a foot, "Here goes nothing."

"Wait!" Barriss nearly slapped her hand down on Ahsoka's shoulder and nearly yanked the younger girl back as she had the rock she had cut. Startled baby-blue eyes stared at the older girl who had the grace to blush lightly and quickly drop her hand. "I mean...Let me go first. After all I have the map in my head." She tapped the side of her skull.

Ahsoka's sighed, but nodded. She stood back and gestured for Barriss to go in first. "Alright then. I'll follow your lead."

The Senior Padawan gave a curt nod and slipped into the catacomb.

She had to take the lead. After all she was the oldest. Ahsoka still had a lot to learn.

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There was just something about Barriss that felt a little off to Ahsoka. Not that the best time to be pondering that was as they slunk through the catacombs that maybe hundreds of Geonosians called home when they weren't churning out droids and weapons for the Seppies. Ahsoka thought she could even hear the bugs stirring in the tunnels that split from the path they followed.

'Maybe...' Ahsoka's mind kept thinking even as Barriss flung out a hand then lightly shoved her against a wall. Two Geonosian guards waited ahead. Ahsoka pressed herself to the wall like Barriss, staying in the shadows and thanking the Froce that the bugs had no hunter eyes or senses like she did. 'Maybe Barriss is nervous...'

Yes, that was it Ahsoka was sure of. She had heard some of the men not-gossiping about Luminara and her Padawan before the pair had arrived. Gree was a big talker it turned out when with his vod'e and word had flitered down the line that unlike her Master, Barriss Offee was no seasoned warrior ready to step up into the army. In fact the Padawan had rejected a purposed Knighting by saying she wasn't ready and Luminara had even agreed when her Padawan had suggested that she stay at the Temple a vast majority of the time to study the healing arts.

Knowing that, Ahsoka was willing to bet that this was the first high risk, special ops missing that Barriss had even been on. No wonder she felt something off about the Senior Padawan. Barriss was pretty much a shiny.

The pair didn't speak as they slowly moved forward deeper into the catacombs. Not a sound passed their lips until Barriss gave a sharp, soft gasp and came to a sudden halt.

Sticking out from the walls, dangling slightly over the heads were bugs. Arms, legs, faces, even wings in some places jutted out from their beds and into the girls' path. "At least they are sleeping..." Ahsoka looked at Barriss in disbelief as the Mirialan slowly began to move forward.

"Are you crazy?" Ahsoka whispered-hissed to her. "What if they wake-up? The whole mission will be blown. We have to find another way Barriss!"

"No!" There it was again. The sharp no that proved to Ahsoka just how nervous Barriss was. How bossy she was too. "Look we don't have to time to find another way so we'll just take this one. This is the fastest way. We'll just go quietly and slow."

"What if you're wrong? What if there is a faster way? We could be wasting time..."

"We'll waste time by even looking for a new way. Now trust me and we'll get to the main reactor before you know it." Ahoska huffed to herself. She would trust Barriss, no matter how bossy the girl was. That was what Analise would want her to do.

As for Barriss, she was fuming a little at Ahsoka's questioning. Hadn't she heard her when she informed them that she had the map of the catacombs completely memorized? That she and she alone out of the four Jedi knew the quickest way through them? She shook her head and banished the thoughts from her mind. No, she wasn't to think like that. It wasn't becoming of a Jedi.

Crouched down, nearly on all fours as Barriss was, Ahsoka slipped past the older girl. Her smaller size gave her the advantage sneaking past the sleeping Geonosians. It was easier for her to duck under or slip around their outreached and limp bodies. Older Barriss was forced to go flow, sucking in her body to avoid even brushing aganist their bones.

It was a bug she hadn't looked at. His body nestled in a niche to her side and half-hanging out. Barriss didn't notice until a long, bony hand suddenly dropped onto her head. "Ahsoka...Ahsoka help!" Ahsoka hadn't realized just how far ahead she had gotten until she heard Barriss' whispered yelps for help.

If they hadn't been in the middle of something so life or death, Ahsoka would have laughed. She would laughed and taken an holo to pass around the Padawans at the Temple. It would have been fun to tease Barriss about being so scared of a bug's hand on her head.

But there were in the middle of life or death. This wasn't the time for laughing or a holo. Instead Ahsoka crept back to Barriss, keeping as low as she could before using the lightest of touch from her hands to very, very slowly and carefully lift the hand and free Barriss.

Her fellow Padawan gave her only a nod, not a word of thanks. Ahsoka understood her silent thanks though. They were in a hurry and a spoken word of thanks could waste time.

The pair scurried away, deeper into the catacombs with Barriss leading the way. Neither looked back at the sleeping bug so neither saw the dark yellowish-brown eyes that watched their every move.

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The numbers against them had been high. Droids marching steadily towards them. Bugs coming at them from the back and sides. It would have been a hopeless fight. A battle over just as it had started as the enemies outnumbered the heroes. It would have been a battle used in later years to demonstrate poor planning and the folly of reckless bravery or one of crushing foes beneath metal and bony feet...Depending on who was telling the story.

But they were Jedi and they were men of the Grand Army of the Republic. Fighting and wining battles when all seemed near or totally lost was what they did best. It was why their exploits were sung across the holonet and the Clones granted some small measure of respect even from their nay-sayers.

Anakin's mind remained on the battle even as a small part drifted down below the planet's surface, far below his feet that danced and slide and stepped out as weaved his lightsaber around and through metal bodies leaving behind smoking remains. Next to him Luminara danced her own deadly dance. In her movements he saw hints of his sister and smirked a little. After working with Ahsoka, Luminara had sought out Analise and trained with her. Now he saw echos of Analise in Luminara's already graceful steps.

The Master panted lightly as she paused in her fight for a moment. Her eyes glanced around, taking stock of the men, the weapons, everything they could reach. The only thing they couldn't see was a pair of Jedi Padawans who were on their own. "Barriss and Ahsoka...They should be deep within the catacombs by now." She glanced at the chrono on her wrist like it was some sort of physical link to Barriss.

To her, maybe it was.

"Yes...I hope that they haven't gotten themselves loss down there." He meant it to be a joke, having full trust in Barriss to lead them safely through.

Neither Knight or Master smiled.

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"We make a left at the next junction."

Barriss was starting to feel lost as she and Ahsoka moved deeper and deeper into the catacombs. It had been one thing to memorize all the junctions, all the twisting turns and winding paths from staring at a holo and reading reports. It was another to be following them in the dimly lit catacombs where a bug or two or more could be lurking around every corner.

When they came to the next junction, the pair were brought up short. There was no path leading off the left. Instead there was a wall. "It's a dead end!" Barriss exclaimed softly as she stared at the wall that had apparently come out of nowhere to nix any hope of success that she had been nurturing in her breast. Next to her Ahsoka huffed silently and scuffed her feet along the ground.

"Barriss think!" she hissed at her. "Look if we make a wrong turn we won't only not make it to the reactor, but we won't find our way out. You do remember your way around here don't you?"

"Of course I do!" Barriss snapped at the younger Padawan. Ahsoka's questions were really starting to drive her mad and not for the first time she questioned the reason behind her Master's choice to pair the two up. If Barriss had be with Master Luminara or even Master Anakin, well she had no doubt that they would have made it to the reactor and blown it up by now.

Instead she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her mind raced through the memorized layout. She had missed something, forgotten something. This was the way, but what had she forgotten...

Barriss gasped. "Wait...It's not left...It's up!" She jerked her head around to a nearby open space where in the ceiling was a large circular opening that let in dusty ways of light. "See I know where we are going. Come on...If you can." Suddenly in a good mood, Barriss teased Ahsoka. She was a rare tease, but when everything was going right she did like to indulge a little.

Besides Ahsoka's doubting hadn't been that wrong and it had helped her snap out of her funk and remember what she had forgotten.

Maybe working with Ahsoka really wasn't that bad.

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He followed the smelly, ugly females. They were young and stupid, poorly trained to not have noticed him trailing their steps.

They were up to no good, it was true. They had to be stopped.

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"Damnit!" Normally Luminara would have shot any Jedi, be they youngling or Padawan or Knight or Master her sternest look should the let loose with a curse word. Especially where pitchers with big ears might hear. This time though as droidekas rolled up on them, she let the curse slide. After all it was Anakin. "Rex get that toy up here!"

"On it!" The Clone Captain had been waiting for the call as he snatched RPS-6 rocket launcher from a nearby Clone who helpfully had it primed and read to go. Now Rex didn't really like the bigger, heavier guns. He liked his smaller pistols just fine and they got the job done.

But they were dealing with droidekas now and his pistols weren't going to be much help unless he could get them inside their personal shields and blast their heads off. Something he did not see happening.

Instead the Captain shouldered the rocket launcher and with one press of the trigger sent the droidekas flying in a blaze of fire and smoke. From behind came the loud clicks and then echoing booms as the cannons on the AT-TEs let loose with their own volley of shots to take out the slowly increasing number of droidekas.

Seppies only liked to use droids like that if the odds were seemed to be suddenly stacked against them. They and magna-guards which reserved only for the elite were the only droids that could give even the Jedi pause.

Rex grinned wolfishly beneath his helmet. Bigger guns always came out in the end and this time they had the big guns.

Though he wished again, longed for their biggest gun to be at his side, at her Master's side where she belonged.

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Poggle slammed his fist down on the holoprojector. This was not how the battle was suppose to go! "Useless droids! We send out the best, our newest and most advanced only for them to be cut down like scrap!" He slammed his fist down onto the table again.

"Please my Lord, you haven't sent out everything yet." TX-21 nearly stumbled over his large metal feet in his hurry to get to Poggle and appease the Geonosian Duke's anger. The bug turned on him in rage. He waved his cane in the air wildly, not caring that he nearly hit the tactical droid again and again.

"What are you talking about you junk heap? Are your optical receptors broken? Do you not see what is happening?"

"But my Lord we still have the new super tanks." TX-21 clasped his metal hands together. "They are our secret weapon. Let us use them."

"Yes...They could even the playing field or level it for our favor. Do we have any ready?"

"Yes my Lord. Twenty units are completed and online with dozens more just needing a last minute adjustment or two." Poggle stoked his chin, the beads in his leathery beard clacking together before he nodded.

"Do it! Get those tanks out there now!"

"Yes my Lord...Thank you my Lord." TX-21 wasted no time in turning to a nearby control panel specially built for droids and pressing down on a glowing button. "Lord Poggle has given his approval. Deploy the super tanks in attack formation now."

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When the doors to the factory opened, they had thought it was more droids. After all they had at last run out of droids and bugs to toss around.

It wasn't droids. Instead two rows of massive and ugly tanks rolled out of the factory. Anakin frowned as he squinted at them. They looked like some sort of curled slug, a bug with a shell on it's back. They were rust brown and inched forward slowly. They didn't hover over the ground, but looked like the rolled along. Their heavy bodies forced them to move forward slowly.

Luminara switched off her lightsaber when Anakin did, taking in the massive tanks heading their way. "Looks like the Separatists put together a new toy on the fly." Anakin snorted.

"Don't they always...Rex let the men know that I want them to use caution. Pick your target. We don't know what we are dealing with just yet."

"Yes General Skywalker!" The Captain waved his hands at the men seated on the AV-7 anti-vehicle cannons. "Alright elevation, move it forward 2-7!"

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It was a sight and sound that Ahsoka was actually glad to see. Peering up through a shaft for too narrow for Barriss at least to get through, she stared at droids flying overhead her head as they dangled from chains. "Wow...Those are a lot of clankers..." She didn't mean to sound impressed, but she had though Anakin and Padme had slightly exaggerated what little they had seen of the factory they had been captured in during the first Battle of Geonosis.

Seeing it for herself...Well she no longer doubted the stories they had told her were true.

Barriss reached back and tugged gently on the Togruta's arm. "Come on...If we go this way we'll hit the control room."

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So the ugly pair were heading to the control room.

He stayed back in the shadows and watched them dart away. He buzzed a little. He needed to let the Archduke know.

Let them have this moment. Let them feel their false success.

Soon he would watch their bones being crushed, their bodies torn apart. It had been a long time since an execution had been held in the arena or that he had just seen a good death in general.

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"Steady...Steady...Now! Fire!" Rex watched through his electrobinoculars as blazing blue bolts of searing hot and explosive energy from the AV-7s rammed into the new Seppie tanks.

Explosion after explosion rocked the ground beneath his feet as with each shot the AV-7s jerked back. There so much smoke, so much fire, so much dust blown high into the air that Rex couldn't see. So he waited. He waited and he held his breath that they had been successful and that those tanks were just piles of scrap.

Only they weren't piles of scrap.

Pushing through the heavy smoke, the lingering flames the tanks plodded slowly on. They face the men. From what he could see, there wasn't a single dent or a single scratch on those blasted junk heaps. Rex silently cursed to himself as he turned to the Jedi. "Nothing should have been able to take those hits and keep going General."

"Unless they were ray-shielded," Anakin pointed out. "In which case we need to form a new plan."

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As one the two girls pushed open the top of the hatch and poked their heads out. Barriss scanned the room and Ahsoka wriggled her nose at the smell. She was used to the smell of metal and gears and oil. After all her Master was a gear-head, but there was a sinister note underneath what were normally soothing scents. The humming buzz in her ears, the orange glow in her eyes didn't help.

"This is it!" Barriss declared, for once smiling as she pulled herself up and out of the hatch. Ahsoka followed and realized the humming buss was the reactor as it crackled and snapped. Barriss waved a hand. "Set the charges and I'll keep watch."

"On it!" Ahsoka, far too gleefully in Barriss' mind snapped open the pack and pulled out the charges, slapping them onto the sides of the reactor. Each one chirped to life, ready to do their duty.

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"Archduke! Archduke! Two Jedi have entered the control room!"

"What? How is that even possible? The security down there is the best I could find. How could they have gotten past it."

"Does it matter you worthless piece of scrap? Get a tank and go down there! This time I will be coming to make sure you do not mess it up!"

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"And with that we're all done here!" Ahsoka hit the button her chrono, marking their progress and activating the bombs before grabbing the now nearly empty pack. "Come on Barriss! This is the point we get ourselves gone."

They had only made it halfway back to the hatch when the Force blared a warning that had Barriss switiching on her saber without a second thought. Ahsoka slipped up to her side, her own lightsaber burning green as a door at one end of the room slide up and revealed...

A massive tank being lead into the control room by none other than Poggle, a tactical droid that looked to have seen better days, and a handful of Geonosian warriors.

Ahsoka sighed and slipped into her fighting stance. Well as Analise always said, they wouldn't be Jedi if things always went according to plan.

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The chrono on his wrist began to flash green. It beeped, alerting him and he stared at it, thinking...

"The bombs!" Anakin turned to Luminara a bright look on his face. "They got the bombs activated!"

"Then they did it...The Padawans did it!" Luminara's chest heaved in relief at the knowledge that not only had Barriss and Ahsoka made it through the catacombs, they had indeed gotten the bombs set and ready to blow.

"Yep and just in time too!" The pair, ducked down behind some rocks, watched as the metal shells of the tanks rolled away revealing their own cannons mounted on top. Peering Anakin watched the cannons begging to bounce back and the ends glow bright yellow..."Everyone get down now!"

The men scattered as the droids took their shots. They aimed not for the men scurrying to find even the smallest place to take cover, but the AV-7s. Anakin cursed as their strongest guns were destroyed and the men nearby killed or wounded. Some, he knew, would be wounded so badly that the Kaminoans would push for the men to be decommissioned and offer to purchase them back. For what purpose he didn't want to know.

Anakin always said no. Instead he turned the men too wounded for combat over to the Temple where they were found jobs they could do even if they weren't always in the fight anymore. The Jedi at the Temple were always looking for extra hands these days with so many of the Jedi spread thin across the reaches of the galaxy.

Over the roar of the tanks and their cannons came the roar of men as they surged forward.

It just wasn't in them to quit.

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"Take care of this TX-21. I have bigger things to worry about."

"Yes my Lord. Collect their silly little bombs and then kill them painfully!"

It should have been an easy fight. After she had fought aganist massive droid armys on days where winning seemed impossible. So fighting aganist a droid, a tank, and about six bugs really should have been so easy she could have taken a nap and still beaten them all.

But it wasn't an easy fight.

They had beaten back the first little wave of warriors which Ahsoka was betting was what made Poggle leave, but there was still a second wave and the tank to deal with. Panting a little she looked over at Barriss. Part of the problem was Barriss. She had never fought with the older girl before so neither of them knew about the other's strengths or weaknesses. Instead of fighting as one, there were fighting as two.

The bugs had darted forward, plucking their bombs from the reactor as the tank fired at the girls and pressed closed to them. Ahsoka switched off her lightsaber and dug through the pack in her hands. Her hands scraped along the bottom before grasping hold of the last bomb. Ahsoka pulled it out and dropped the pack. She thumbed it and tossed it at the tank, guiding it with the Force as it stuck to the side. "There! Let's see who your tank handles that!"

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Stupid slave. Your little bomb cannot hurt the..." TX-21 never got to finish his sentence. The bomb didn't stop the tank much to Ahsoka's shock...But it did shut up the tactical droid by tearing his body apart.

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Men were laying broken, dead all over as other vod'e risked life and limb to dig through the blood-soaked sand to find the lucky ones as their hands brushed over the ones they would mourn later. All but one or two of their AT-TEs remained intact. The rest were piles of melted metal, disjointed sockets, leaking fuel.

Anakin gently shoved Luminara down behind a rock formation as they struggled to keep moving. The tanks were slow, their weapons were not and they moved a far distance. "Rex!" Anakin yelled to be shouted over the echoing death bells that grew closer and closer with each passing minute. "Rex gather up the vod'e and have them fall back!"

"What?" Both Gree and Rex stared at the Knight as he began digging through the packs on the ground, he eyes roaming over their contents. "Are you telling us to run General?"

"No, not run." Anakin stood, a charge rolling around in the palm of his left hand before he set it back in the pack and hefted it onto his shoulders. "I just want you and the men to fall back enough to stay out of range of their guns. That way we can draw them out onto the bridge."

Luminara's eyes widened as she caught onto the plan. It was bold. It was reckless. It was crazy enough that it just might work. It was pure Skywalker. "I get it now, what you're going for," she nodded and shoved the second pack onto her own back. Anakin smirked.

"I always come prepared with a few backup plans Master. Let's go!"

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"The bombs!" Ahsoka darted forward and Barriss followed her. The bugs had indeed collected all the bombs from the reactor and now they were flying out of reach. Barriss knew that their plan had failed. That they needed to cut their losses and just focus on getting out...

But apparently Ahsoka didn't feel the same way. As Barriss deflected the laser bolts from the tank, she watched in amazement as the Togruta leapt as high as she could into the air and grab hold of the ankles of two Geonosian warriors. Their wings batted harder in the air and they hissed at the young Padawan who refused to let go.

Barriss turned as the hatch behind her popped open and bug stuck his head out, waving a long arm hurridly through the air. "Come on! Time to go!" At his call the bugs started heading for the hatch.

"Drop those bombs you damn dirty grub buggers!" Ahsoka let loose with a stream of most impressive curse words that Barriss was certain no Jedi would ever need as she insulted everything about the bugs from their looks to the mothers. Her eyes followed the progress until the pair decided to slam Ahsoka into the top of the reactor. The younger girl let out a loud, painful yelp as she slammed again and dropped. Her body landing limp and unmoving on the unforgiving floor.

Barriss paled. Ahsoka was so still, so quiet...Was she?

A quick check with the Force and the slight movement of a chest made Barriss sigh in relife. Her partner lived still and she would keep that way.

Rushing to Ahsoka, Barriss stood over the small body and fought back the bugs intent on doing their job until the one in the hatch called for them again. She chased after them, but she was too slow. The top of the hatch was slammed shut and locked.

Turning around Barriss' eyes narrowed as she watched the tank inch closer and closer to, she dared to say it in her head, her new friend. Her only friend. Ahsoka was moving, but Barriss just knew that she wouldn't be able to face it.

Her glare hardened and the grip on her lightsaber tightened as something welled within her. Something that maybe she was suppose to be afraid of.

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As younglings it had been a game. Swinging from one bar to another or one tree branch to another. It had been fun to swing through the air with the ground seemingly so far below. A rush for the youngest of members. A game that taught them, that tested them; but still just a game.

Now that game was his battle plan.

Wrapped in the Force and using it to find the perfect place for their hands to grab, Anakin and Luminara swung from rock to rock underneath the bridge. It shook as the tanks marched across it. The noise was dimmed, but still loud enough to make his ears ring.

Every so often he and Luminara would dip a hand into their packs and pull out a little bomb, sticking them to the underside of the bridge and turning them on.

They moved as fast as they dared with the bottom dropped down so low that even with the Force Anakin knew they would in a all likelihood not make it if they lost their grip and fell.

Luminara nodded as he placed the last bomb and they moved to the edges of the bridge. Gripping the edge as tightly as they could they swung themselves back up and over, their feet solidly on the ground again. Anakin pulled the trigger from his pack and slammed the red button down.

His plan worked. The bombs went off one by one, destroying the bridge and sending the tanks plummiting down to the floor of the canyon where they burned and burned.

He could faintly hear the cheers of the men. He could see their fists pumping in the air victoriously. He and Luminara only waved back. This wasn't a victory, not yet.

The Master and Knight turned their backs on the men and stared at the droid factory. The doors were closed. Growling Anakin stared down at the blinking chrono. "Where are Ahsoka and Barriss? Those bombs are going to blow at any time." He switched to his com. "Rex is there any sign of the girls on your side of the canyon."

"None at all Sir." There was a worry in Rex's voice. Worry that only those who had been with him for a long time would have heard. "But evac ships are on the way since this thing is getting ready to blow sky-high. I suggest that you and General Unduli board one and get to safety." Anakin noted that the Captain made no mention of himself boarding a ship for safety.

"Don't worry Anakin...Barriss will not fail." Anakin wondered just who Luminara was trying to convince. Himself or her.

It didn't matter. All that mattered was this was not going to be the day he lost his baby sister.

Anakin frantically began to yell into his com, calling for Ahsoka.

The doors to the facotry opened and droids began to march out. Anakin glared at them.

He wasn't in the mood to play nice.

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It wasn't a sight Ahsoka wanted to see as she came to. The tank inching closer and closer to her. She groaned. Her mind was still hazy...Still foggy...

Barriss bared her teeth in a snarl and leapt to the top of the tank, slicing through the top. "Hey! Where did the other girl go...Aaaahhh!" The droids were easy to dispatch and she felt whatever had welled up inside her die away. She pushed open the small circular hatch in front.

Ahsoka smirked when the tank stop and she saw Barriss peeking her head out. Ahsoka jumped up, diving inside and the hatch closed behind her with a clang as she settled into the driver's seat.

"Ahsoka...The bugs took the bombs."

"Okay. So what should we do now?" Barriss paused, her skin pale as suddenly she felt everything. She had only ever done things by the books. Her plans were always airtight, there was no room for wiggling around. There was no place for making things up, for adjustments if one part or many parts went wrong.

The Senior Padawan stared hopelessly at the younger Padawan. "I...I don't know. Without the bombs I don't know."

"Well..." Ahsoka eyes studied the tank, the controls, the power read-outs, everything. "We could use this tank to destroy the power generator, but we would probably be destroyed too." The girls looked at each other. They were Jedi and they had always been told that death wasn't the end. Barriss even felt that there was a certain honor in a death sacrifice. It was the greatest sacrifice a Jedi could give and their names were honored through the halls of the Temple.

All the same though they didn't want to die.

But they didn't have a choice.

"If it is all we can do, then we must do it."

Ahsoka sadly turned on her com and spoke into it, the sounds of battle ringing in her ears.

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"Master can you hear me? Are you there?"

"Ahsoka? Thank the Force! Now set off those bombs! We're getting run over out here!"

"I'm sorry Anakin...Barriss and I aren't going to make it..." I love you big brother with all my heart. Name a baby for me one day.

"Ahsoka? Ahsoka! What are you talking about?" Damnit Snips! Answer me!

"Firing now Barriss."

Ahsoka!

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"Get down! Get down now!"

Rex heard the calls, but he could barely move as the factory was blown into large chunks of metal and stone. Flames shot into the sky so high he couldn't see the tops. Smoke and dust billowed, rushing like waves over the men and nearly blinding them.

His heart thudded so loudly that he thought all the men could see it beating beneath his chest plate.

Ahsoka hadn't made it out...

A part of him wanted to fall to his knees and scream his rage to the skies. Why? Why had the Force taken her away already? Didn't the Force know how much he and the rest of the 501st needed her?

"Get those tank-lifters in here now!" he barked at the nearest shiny who stumbled away on shaking legs to relay the order.

No...No! Ahsoka was not dead. That little one would be fine and fighting. He just knew it.

He forced his feet forward as the dust settled, marched towards a latty.

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The Jedi Generals were at the front. Anakin calling into his com, General Unduli kneeling on the ground when the gunship landed. Slowly Rex climbed off. Ahsoka was alive...Ahsoka was alive...

"Don't worry Master Luminara. Barriss and Ahsoka...They're fine."

"I'm not worried. Be at ease Anakin."

"What?" Rex could hear the layer of anger in his General's voice. One did not tell Anakin Skywalker to give up. "You want me to be at ease? Our Padawans are still alive down there and are waiting to be rescued."

"For now maybe, but they are slipping away...I can feel it." Rex scoffed inside his head. He doubted that Luminara could really feel Ahsoka or even her own Padawan that much. He doubted that the formal Master had even attempted to nurture a Bond like the one his Jedi had.

"No!" Anakin stood and turned his back on Luminara. "No they are alive and will stay that way."

"General, I've got the tank-lifters here." Anakin's eyebrow raised. He hadn't ordered the tank-lifters, but that didn't matter now. His eyes moved to the ground. "We'll get that debris out of the way." Only Anakin could hear the catch in Rex's voice. Only Anakin could sense the dark look Rex had sent to Luminara having clearly overheard the woman's willingness to give up.

"Let's get them going then Rex..."

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Lightsabers, when not being used in battle had a few other uses. The most excellent of these non-combat uses was that of flashlight. Blue and green mixed with shadows as the girls were cramped together. Ahsoka knew that something in her knee had twisted, that her back was probably bruised all along her spine.

She didn't care though. The factory was gone.

"So...Do you have any ideas as to how far under we've been buried?" Ahsoka stared at Barriss in shock and wondered why she could sense little...No...Not little...There was pretty much no hope in Barriss. No real hope that they would be found and make it out of here alive.

"We probably shouldn't think about it." Keen hunter eyes spotted something and her spirit cheered. "Hand me that power cell please." Barriss followed her pointing finger and tapped the power cell in question, pulling it free and passing it to Ahsoka. "Thank you. Mind holding my light?" She passed Barriss her lightsaber.

"Whatever you're planning Ahsoka I hope it works. I would much rather have died fighting or in the explosion instead of starving to death trapped in here." When they had been in the tank and made the decision, Barriss had thought about the glory and respect their deaths would have brought them. After all it meant millions of lives saved. Now trapped in the dark, battered and bruised the sacrifice didn't seem so wonderful.

"No worries there," Ahsoka chuckled as she turned a com over and over in her hands and ignoring the blood running down her face from a cut somewhere. "We'll be out of air long before we starve."

"Well that's a comforting thought thank you." Ahsoka giggled again and began to take the com apart.

"Anakin...I mean Master Skywalker is always worried about something happening and me getting separated from him or Analise or Obi-Wan or the men. He's hammered a few tricks into my head just in case which means...I think I can get this old thing working enough that I can send out a pulse."

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"We cannot and will not abandon our Padawans...I will not leave my sister behind."

"You are quick to judge me Anakin. I care deeply for Barriss, but if this is the time for them..."

"No! Ahsoka will not die because it is not her time. It is far from her time. My baby sister is smart and will find a way out of this."

"If Barriss is gone, I will mourn her. But I will also celebrate the life she lead and the memory of her that I will carry with me."

"You can do that Master, but I plan on celebrating this victory with Ahsoka in person."

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"You do know that what happens to us now doesn't matter," Barriss commented as Ahsoka worked away. "All that does matter is the millions of lives we have saved by destroying this factory."

Ahsoka smiled as though she found Barriss' idea charming, but childish. "Well how about I add two more lives saved?" She began to gently tap the power cell against the exposed wiring of the comlink, making it spark and hiss. Anakin...I know you're there...I need you to find us...

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Anakin...I know you're there...I need you to find us...

Ahsoka! Anakin's eyes darted to his com which had begun to blink and beep. It was a pulse...Ahsoka's pulse. The trick he had taught her not so long ago. "Rex, Master I've got a pulse on Ahsoka's com channel." His eyes left the com and scanned the massive debris field. "It's over there!"

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Please Skyguy find me...I'm so tired...Ahsoka's arms slowed and fell to her sides. Her head was going fuzzy again, darkness blurring at the corners of her eyes.

There was a hiss as a lightsaber was turned off and then an unfamiliar hand was holding tight to her own. She rolled her head to look at Barriss.

The older Padawan squeezed tightly to the small hand in her grip. Ahsoka might be annoying at times, wild and reckless; but Barriss had grown to like her. Maybe they really could be friends...

If they made it.

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"I'll get those lifters over here on the double!"

"We don't have the time for that Rex. Master?" Luminara nodded and Anakin darkly thought that now they knew where the Padawans were and that they were most certainly still alive, she wasn't going to give up and just walk away.

He kept his mouth shut though and closed his eyes Together they reached out through the Force, wrapping it around the debris and moving the rocks, chucks of building embedded with droids off to the sides.

Slowly, bit by bit they uncovered a battered, but still held together tank...

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"Listen Barriss! Listen!" Ahsoka tugged gently on her new friend's hand. "They're digging! They heard us!" Barriss smiled as dusty light, but still light began to pour into the tank.

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"Barriss!"

"Ahsoka!" Thank the Force my Snips is okay!

The girls had emerged from the tank, coughing in the fresh air. They were bruised, had been tossed around. Barriss had helped Ahsoka out and it was clear that she had taken a few hits in the explosion. Anakin could see the nasty cut on her head, the darker colors on her skin even beneath the thin layer of dirt and grime that coated her skin. "I knew it!" He turned to Luminara. "I knew they were still alive and you were ready to give up on them."

"It's not that I was going to give up on them. It's that I was ready to let Barriss go if it was her time." She eyeed the younger male. "Are you ready to let Ahsoka go if the Force calls her from this life?"

"The Force won't do that...Not yet." Luminara huffed worriedly, but Anakin was no longer paying attention to her. All his attention was on Ahsoka. Rex had been the first down into the crater, scooping up the Togruta and carrying her to her Master, her brother.

Normally Ahsoka would be complaining about being carried like a baby. That she was fine and that she could walk.

Not this time though. She let her big brother hold her tight as he had when she had been a little youngling, rocking her back and forth. I knew it...I just knew that you would come looking for me.

And I always will Snips. Just as I will always know that you will get the mission done.

I love you.

I love you more baby sister.

"Barriss..." She turned to her Master and bobbed a curtsy. A part of her wished that she and Master Luminara had a relationship like Ahsoka and her Master. She wished that Master Luminara would hold her, hug her. But that was not their relationship and as much as Barriss wished, she knew it would never be. She was a Jedi Padawan and such a closeness was not for her. "Barriss you did well."

"Thank you Master Luminara...But it was really Ahsoka." They turned to the Padawan cuddled happily in Anakin's arms. "If she hadn't used the trick Master Skywalker had taught her, we would have still been down there and we might have died."

"Then I owe Ahsoka my thanks once again." She smiled at the pair. "Your Master wasn't ready to give you up yet and he never lost faith in you either."

"And I never will Master Luminara. I will never loose faith in Ahsoka."

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Translations

vod-brother, sister, comrade

vod'e-brothers, sisters, comrades