Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.
Hey folks. This will be the final part of this Clone wars era story,
Parts of this chapter were inspired by the Star Wars: Ahsoka novel by E.K. Johnston, James Luceno's star wars legends novel 'Labyrinth of Evil', and KyLeE13's Siege of Mandalore comic from deviantart.
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RSD Indomitable, in orbit above Concrord Dawn, Mandalorian Space.
Back in the Concord Dawn system, Ahsoka was slowly readjusting to her old life aboard the cruiser. So far, she had avoided talking to Rex and his men, opting to muster up the courage to meet them again. She knew that she had nothing to be afraid of, but still, she needed time.
Then she went to go raid her old room. Her master and troopers were kind enough to keep everything the way she left it. Save for a few outfits she took, and all of the pictures.
The young togrutan girl, who was on the very cusp of adulthood, was walking with her old master through the ship's corridors.
"It's nice of you to drop in, Snips," Anakin said. "It...it's good to see you again".
Ahsoka smiled.
"You can't get rid of me that easily Skyguy," she joked.
Anakin smiled back. But then he stopped. He turned to her.
Ahsoka knew that look. They were about to have another one of their moments.
"Ahsoka ... look, I-," Anakin tried to say.
But Ahsoka cut her off.
"Anakin, look, I know what you're about to say,' she said.
"You do?" He asked with one eyebrow raised above the other.
"Yes. Look, not a day goes by where I don't think about what I could've done differently. I know that you and the boys must've been devastated. I wish that I could've stayed and let things go back to normal. But I just ... I just couldn't stay anymore. I had to-," Ahsoka said before she was silenced when Anakin raised his hand.
They were quiet for a moment, as they stood in front of a viewport that looked out over space.
"Ahsoka, I know that you were doing what you believed was right. But even though I still disagree with what you did, I just want you to know that..." he inhaled deeply. "...you make me very, very proud".
Ahsoka smiled, and he smiled back.
"Oh, and I have something for you," Anakin said as he reached for something on his belt. It looked like something wrapped in a cloth. He handed it to Ahsoka, who started to open it with anticipation. She untied the know and let it fall to the ground. Then she unwrapped the cloth. Anakin was smiling the entire time. When Ahsoka finally unwrapped it, her eyes went wide, and her mouth agape.
They were her old lightsabers. In her quivering hands. She thought that she was dreaming. She had left her sabers when she walked away from the order and until a couple days ago, she hadn't expected to hold the very type of weapon she'd grown up with.
She looked up to see Anakin smiling.
"Are these-," she began to ask.
"Yup. And they're as good as new." Anakin said.
Ahsoka hit the activation switches, but instead of the green and yellow blades, she was surprised to see beams of pure blue shot out of the slender hilts. She looked at Anakin and smirked, with her head tilted and with one eyebrow arched over the other.
Anakin smiled, and he leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, maybe a little better."
She swung her new weapons around and watched them dance happily - accompanied by the familiar hum and the scent of ozone. "They're beautiful," she said before she turned them off, before hugging her master. "Thank you."
That's when Ahsoka deactivated her lightsabers and, without warning, threw her arms around her master, burying her face into his chest. He was taken aback by the hug, but then, he wrapped his arms around her to return the hug, grasping her lekku, and patting her on the upper back.
"Okay, okay, that's enough," he said before he withdrew from the hug. "Now come on, let's get to the breifing".
They both began to walk through the corridors to the ship's bridge. They walked in silence before Anakin finally broke it.
"So ... you and Bonteri, huh?"
Ahsoka smiled and blushed at her old master's question concerning her love life. She told Anakin earlier, that after the war, she would consider rejoining the Grand Army, and perhaps even the Order. But in order to do so, she would have to keep her relationship with Bonteri. The reason why, made Anakin understand ... perhaps more so than anyone else alive.
They both came across the command deck. they walked through the door to the bridge. It was filled with clone troopers and officers, who were keeping busy as they prepared for a great invasion, to liberate a once proud and noble planet, as well as its people, from a brutal tyrant.
Obi-Wan, Admiral Yularen, and Commander Cody were speaking to holograms of Bo-Katan and Captain Rex, who were on the surface and on another cruiser, respectively, gathering the Clone Army, and the mandalorian reinforcements that were arriving from the colonies that rejected maul's rule (all of them).
"It's about damn time Kenobi!" Bo-Katan said to Obi-Wan. "Things in this system have been real messy since that damn Zabrak took over. Our numbers have plunged into the Sarlacc Pit since the occupation began. Some of the Nite Owls are talking about disbanding if the invasion doesn't launch soon. This could be our only chance to take down Maul and his Shadow Collective."
Obi-Wan stroked his beard thoughtfully.
"Don't worry Kryze. With your allies from the colonies, and our naval support, we should be able to break through Sun'dari's defenses ... and subdue Maul". He noticed Ahsoka and Anakin walking into the room. "Ah, Anakin. We were just discussing the operation," he looked at Ahsoka and bowed his head slightly with a smile. "And I'm glad to see you here again Ahsoka".
"Likewise Master Kenobi," she said with a slight bow of her head before she smiles. She then looked at Rex. "Hey Rexter," she said using a nickname. "You ready to hit the road?"
"You know it ma'am. The boys are itching for a fight. Oh and, uh ... we're glad to have you back," he said.
Ahsoka smiled and blushed.
"It's good to be back, Rex".
"Okay, now that we've gotten the pleasantries out of the way, can we get back to saving Mandalore?" Kryze pressed.
"Right," Obi-Wan said before he began to address a hologram of the planet. "Our first coarse of action will be to-," he started for he was interrupted by R2-D2 beeping rapidly.
"General Skywalker, something has your astromech very flustered." Cody said.
Everyone in the room looked in the direction of the little blue astromech, whom Anakin knelt in front of. "What is it, Artoo? What's wrong?" He asked in a concerned tone.
As the two carried on, Bo-Katan crossed her arms over her chest in an unamused stance. "Does he understand droid?" She asked.
"That droid," Obi-Wan and Ahsoka answered at the exact same time. They looked at each other and smiled.
Artoo continued to whistle and beep. Anakin then turned towards the holo-table that everyone was standing around, toggling switches and pressing buttons. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka and the others all looked to Anakin, waiting for him to share what he's leaned with them. That's when they heard Mace Windu's voice issuing through the holo-table's annunciators.
But the transmission came in garbled and inaudible.
"Artoo, clean this up." Anakin ordered.
Obi-Wan glanced from the droid to Anakin and back again. "What is it?" He asked in a rush.
"Tight-beam comm from Coruscant," Anakin said.
That's when the recording of Mace Windu came through, much more clearly this time.
"Kenobi! Skywalker! Coruscant is under siege, and General Grievous has abducted the supreme chancellor. If you're receiving this, you must return immediately. You must rescue Palpatine."
They all listened to, and were all stunned by the same recording.
"The Separatists have invaded Coruscant?!" Cody asked.
"How is that possible?" Yularen asked.
Obi-Wan gaped at the holo-image of Windu. "I- I don't ..." He started to say, not able to find an answer.
Anakin lifted his face to the high ceiling and let out a sustained snarl. He then stabbed a finger from his mechanical hand into the keys on the holo-table.
"All hands, report to battle stations. And hanger personnel, refuel and re-arm our star-fighters at once! Let's move with a purpose, people!"
With Coruscant under siege, and the recall order from Mace Windu, clones began to rush everywhere, preparing for their upcoming return to the embattled capital.
But what did this all mean for the liberation of Mandalore?
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Invisible Hand.
Slapped by fire, the personal gunship of General Grievous crawled toward the docking bay of the Invisible Hand. Grievous held to his treacherous course, even while contingency plans formed in his mind. Wings of Trade Federation droid fighters had burned a path for the shuttle through areas of intense combat, but the vulnerable craft was not yet clear.
Many of the General's impassioned pursuers were so busy defending themselves that they no longer represented a threat, but three starfighters had managed to stay with the shuttle, and were continuing to harry it with surgical fire.
The spiraling chase up the gravity well and the twisting transit to the cruiser had left the ship battered. The sublight engine was whining in protest, the ray shield dangerously diminished, the minimal weapons depleted. Uncertain as to where Grievous had stashed Palpatine, the pilots of the trio of starfighters were being careful with their bolts, but every hit was inflicting further damage to the stabilizers and shield generator. Plasma fire from the Invisible Hand's point-defense weapons had only prompted them to close ranks with the shuttle, using it in the same way Grievous was using Palpatine - as a kind of screen.
The mechanical voice of a control droid aboard the cruiser issued the shuttle's cockpit speakers. "General, do you wish us to deploy tri-fighters against the star-fighters?"
"Negative," Grievous said. "Save them for when we actually need them. Continue cannon fire."
"General, our computations suggest continued close-range fire could subject the shuttle to fratricide."
Grievous didn't doubt it. As it was, the hull was blistering with each salvo from the cruiser.
"Ready the forward tractor beam," he said after a moment. "Fire a disabling burst at all four of us. Then utilize the beam to ensare what remains of the shuttle and draw it into the docking bay - even if that means dragging a star-fighter in, as well. Have battle droids standing by."
"Yes, General."
Grievous swiveled his seat toward Palpatine, who was strapped into an acceleration couch between two MagnaGuards. The Supreme Chancellor had been unexpectedly compliant since leaving the bunker, at times brazen enough to take Grievous to task for his less-than-perfect piloting skills.
You fool, you'll get us both killed! Palpatine had barked at him a few times.
Grievous began to wonder what Palpatine thought was in store for him when they reached the cruiser. Was he under the delusion that Sidious and Tyranus would simply hold him for ransom? Did it somehow escape him that he wasn't likely to see Coruscant again?
Once more, Grievous questioned the needless complexity of the Sith Lords' plan. Why not kill Palpatine sooner rather than later? If he hadn't been under order...
You take orders? Palpatine had mocked him earlier.
Which of them was the lesser indeed?
"Strap in, Chancellor," Grievous said now. "This could get rough."
Palpatine sneered. "With you at the controls, I'm certain it will."
No sooner did Grievous swing back to the viewport than gouts of fire spewed from the Invisible Hand's forward cannons. Two of the star-fighter pilots must have sensed something coming, because they all but glued themselves to the shuttle. Rocked by the burst, the shuttle lost portions of itself to space, and all systems shut down. One of the fighters was blown away, but the other two had lost their wings, and began to spin out of control.
The shuttle reeled as the cruiser's tractor beam took hold of it.
With it came the pair of star-fighters.
Grievous considered ordering that the docking bay be purged of atmosphere. But with life support failing and no rebreather gear to don, Grievous decided against it. He would just have to deal with the surviving pilots himself when they were released from the beam.
The three ships were scarcely through the docking bay's containment field when explosive charges blew the canopies off of the star-fighters and two Jedi Knights leapt to the deck, lightsabers ablaze, deflecting blaster bolts from the battle droids as they raced for the shuttle. Before the shuttle had even settled to the deck, one of the Jedi had plunged his glowing blade straight through the starboard hatch.
Hurrying aft through thickening smoke, Grievous caught sight of Palpatine's expression of derision.
"Surprise, surprise, General."
He halted just long enough to say: "We'll see who's surprised."
Grievous saw the lightsaber blade retract from the door after cutting a neat circle. But before the door could be pushed in, Grievous kicked the door out with his mechanical taloned foot, catching the Jedi Knights off guard.
He pulled two lightsabers out of his cloak and engaged them.
The duel raged through the hold. Battle droids lowered their weapons out of fear of hitting Grievous. These Jedi were more proficient than the ones he had fought in the bunker, but not skilled enough to challenge him. The four blades seared through the recycled air, washing the burnished bulkheads with harsh light and outsized shadows.
Flanking him, the Jedi rushed in.
Grievous waited until they were locked with his blades. And then, in the middle of his saber lock with the two Knights, his arms split in two, grabbed two more sabers, and plunged the two extra blades straight underneath the Jedi defenses and into their chests.
They fell away from him, faces contorted in surprise, of the sort only sudden death could bring.
Several battle droids hastened forward, almost prancing in eagerness.
"Jettison the bodies," Grievous instructed. "Choose a place where the Republic can have a good look at them."
Diminutive between two MagnaGuards, Palpatine was waiting at the foot of the shuttle boarding ramp.
"Take him," Grievous said.
Lifting Palpatine by his armpits, the combat droids followed Grievous through the cruiser, and at last through the cruiser, and at last through an oval of opalescent portal into a large cabin space containing a situation table surrounded by chairs. Grievous ordered the guards to set Palpainte down in a swivel chair by the windows and to shackle his hands.
"Welcome to my quarters," he said while he did input at a console built into the table. Shortly the window behind the swivel chair polarized, showing the battle over Coruscant.
He then summoned a eyeball-shaped holo-cam out of the table, pointing it at the Chancellor.
"You're about to make an unscheduled appearance on the HoloNet, Chancellor," Grievous said. "I apologize for not providing a mirror, hairbrush, and cosmetics, so they you might at least camouflage some of your fear."
Palpatine's voice was sinister when he spoke. "You can display me, but I won't speak."
Grievous nodded at what seemed an obvious statement. "I'll display you, but you won't speak. Is that understood?"
"You will do all the talking."
"That's correct. I will do all the talking."
"Very good."
For no apparent reason, Grievous felt uncertain. "Lord Tyranus will soon be here to take charge of you."
Palpatine smiled without showing his teeth. "Then I am assured of being greatly entertained."
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Senatorial Bunker, beneath the Senate Building.
From aboard his cruiser, General Grievous addressed a captive audience of trillions of beings. his frightening visage dominating every frequency of the HoloNet, he delivered a message of gloom and doom, forecasting the end of Palpatine's reign, the long-delinquent downfall of the corrupt Republic, a bright new future for all the worlds and all species that had been enslaved to it . . .
Crushed in among the suddenly silent multitude in the bunker beneath the Senate Building's plaza, Bail touched Mon Mothma's rm in a gesture that promised his imminent return, and began to writhe his way to the edge of the crowd. Gazing around, he spied Padme standing with C-3PO, arms cradled against her, elbows in the palms of her hands, her face raised to the HoloNet screen.
Hastening to her, he called her name, and she turned from her droid into his comforting embrace, her tears wetting the front of his tunic.
"Padme, listen to me," he said, stroking her hair. "The Separatists have nothing to gain by killing Palpatine. He'll be all right."
"What if you're wrong, Bail?" What if they do kill him, and power falls into the hands of Mas Amedda and the rest of that gang? That doesn't worry you? What if Alderaan is next on Grievous's list of worlds to attack?"
"Of course it worries me. I fear for Alderaan. But I have faith that won't happen. This attack will put an end to the Outer Rim sieges. The Jedi will be back where they belong, here in the Core. And as for Mas Amedda, he won't last a week. There are thousands of Senators who think as we do, Padme. We'll rally them into a force to be reckoned with. We'll put the Republic back on course, even if we have to fight tooth and nail to overcome anyone who opposes us." He put his hand under her chin to lift her face towards his. "We'll get through this, no matter what."
She sniffled; smiled lightly. :If I could keep my concerns focused only on the future of the Republic . . ."
Bail held her gaze, and nodded in understanding.
"Padme, if it's any comfort to you, please know that my wife and I would do anything to protect you and those close to you."
"Thank you, Bail," Padme said, her hand subtly drifting to her belly as she thought of Anakin again. "With all my heart, thank you."
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Jedi Temple.
In his quarters in the Temple, Yoda watched a HoloNet feed that showed the bodies of two Jedi drifting in space, close to the flagship of the Separatist fleet. The corners of his mouth pulled down in sadness, he turned to the comlink.
"See them, I do."
Mace's voice rumbled from the speaker. "If we can ever break through this fighter screen, we'll storm the cruiser."
"Kill the Supreme Chancellor, Grievous will."
"I don't think so. He's had plenty of chances already."
"Wait, then, to hear the Separatists' demands, we should."
"The Senate will give away Coruscant to effect Palpatine's release."
"Worse the situation will be if the Supreme Chancellor dies. Fall, the Republic will."
Mace fell silent for a moment. Yoda saw him in the cockpit of the cruiser he and Kit were using to hover above Coruscant. "What should we do?"
"To the Force, look for guidance. Accept what fate has placed before us. For now, prevent Grievous's fleet from escaping to hyperspace, you must. Recalled, many Jedi and others have been. Turn, the battle will, when they arrive."
"Master Yoda, we were close to capturing Sidious. I could feel it."
"Knew it, Sidious did, Hiding, he is."
Perhaps no longer on Coruscant, Yoda thought.
"We'll pin Grievous here, like the vermin he is."
Mace severed the transmission, and Yoda tottered to the windows. Western Coruscant was engulfed by darkness; the sky above, splintered by rabid light.
Perilous the future will be. A cause for grave concern.
But the battle in local space wasn't the end.
Beginning, the final act was!
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Castle Serenno.
Dooku had ordered his droid pilot, over a comm device, to prepare his Solar Sailor for take off as he exited his Castle, and walked across the property, which was guarded by many Commando Droids.
The sloop's Geonosian technology would mask the fact that he will be jumping directly to Coruscant, even in the middle of a battle, and play out the final act of the drama Sidious had composed.
The abduction of Palpatine had not only abbreviated the search for him, but also allowed Sidious to escape Coruscant undetected. But those events had been minor acts. Sidious would never have allowed the Jedi to expose him. And Palpatine was hardly the prize he appeared to be.
The greater prize, Sidious had told Dooku during their most recent communication, was Anakin Skywalker.
"Long have you watched him," Dooku had said, repeating words Sidious himself had spoken.
"Longer than you know, Lord Tyranus. Longer than you know. And the time has come to test him again."
"His skills, my lord?"
"The depth of his anger. His willingness to go beyond the Force, as the Jedi know it, and to call on the power of the dark side. General Grievous will activate a special beacon that will call Skywalker and Kenobi back to Coruscant, and onto the stage we will set for them."
But not to capture them.
"You will duel them," Sidious had said. "Kill Kenobi. His only purpose is to die and, in doing so, ignite young Skywalker to tap the depths of his fear and rage. Should you defeat Skywalker easily, then we will know that he is not prepared to serve us. Perhaps he never will be prepared. Should he by some fluke best you, however, I will control the outcome to spare you any unnecessary embarrassment, and we will have gained a powerful ally. But above all you must make the contest appear real, Lord Tyranus."
"I will treat it as if it were my crowning achievement," Dooku had promised.
Hyperspace awaited.
"To Coruscant," he told FA-4 from his comfortable chair in the sloop's main hold.
And with that, the ship jumped.
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Mandalore System, RSD Indomitable.
A couple hours after her Masters received the recall order from Coruscant, Ahsoka stood near one of the viewports on the starboard side of the ship. She had a holo-communicator with her. The young girl had been trying to reach her boyfriend, Lux Bonteri for a few minutes now. The last time she spoke to him, he was on Coruscant. She remembered the conversation like it was just a couple days ago. Mostly because it was only a couple days ago.
When she couldn't get ahold of him, realizing that civilian chatter on Coruscant was probably limited with the invasion, she settled with just looking at a holo-pic of herself and him on Shili. She smiled at the picture. They appeared to be a normal happy couple in the picture. Lux even planted a small kiss on her cheek after the picture was taken.
Their feelings for each other ran deep, and their passion for one another was strong, for the chain that bound them was forged in the fires of war.
Ahsoka closed her eyes and thought about the night that he ... 'had her' at that pond, and hummed to herself. She then held the holo-pic to her chest. Her breasts pushed together as she tried to pull the pic against her beating heart.
Then she heard footsteps behind her. She tensed up and put her holo-projector back in her utility belt when she saw that it was Anakin walking up to her.
"Is everything alright Ahsoka?" Anakin asked.
"I'm fine Skyguy, I-" she looked back to see him giving her a look. She sighed. "Master, let me come with you. If I don''t then ... who'll watch your back?"
Anakin could see right through her ploy. She wanted to make sure that a certain senator was alright.
"It's alright Ahsoka. "I've got Obi-Wan with me". Anakin said. Ahsoka looked down in defeat. "Besides. You need to stay here and help retake Mandalore."
"I know. But still, I wish that you and master Kenobi could stay".
Anakin smiled and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Come on. I've got something to show you".
Anakin then walked off with Ahsoka right behind her.
Ahsoka and Anakin walked through the corridors of the RSV Indomitable, which were packed with clones and naval personnel, and even a few droids, who were all doing about their business, either in preparation for their return to Coruscant, or the upcoming Liberation of Mandalore.
As Ahsoka and Anakin continued walking, two clones walked passed them, snapping up a brisk salute to the two Force-users.
"Commander." One of them said, addressing Ahsoka.
"Sir." The other one said, addressing Anakin, who gave a nod in acknowledgment.
But Ahsoka only had a blank, and somewhat nervous, look, as she didn't know how to respond. She should've known how to conduct herself, as she was experienced this all before. But being back was so . . . surreal.
Two more clones, both helmet-less, saw them coming and parted ways for Anakin and Ahsoka, smiling as they each threw up a salute to honor a returning comrade.
But still, Ahsoka didn't know how to respond. She shook her head. "They shouldn't salute me anymore. Not since I left the Order."
"It doesn't matter to them. It's a sign of respect," Anakin said, trying to reassure Ahsoka. "They know what you went through for them, day after day, battle after battle." Anakin crossed his arms and stopped before the door to the ship's main hanger, getting Ahsoka to stop with him. "Loyalty means everything to the clones."
That's when the door in front of them magically seemed to open up in front of them, and Ahsoka was awestruck at the sight that was before her.
It was the whole of Torrent Company, the vanguard of the Elite 501st Legion, standing at attention, with an open row between both ranks. The men who have fought beside Ahsoka from the battle of Christophsis to the day she left the order. But there was something different about these men. The blue markings on their armor were replaced with orange markings. But what was most eye-catching was that these men had changed their helmets as well.
Instead of the usual blue markings, the faceplates were painted orange, with white markings.
And in the center of it all, was Captain Rex.
"Company!" He called out before turning to his men. "ATTEN-SHUN!"
"HUT!" They all chanted as they all about-faced and turned towards the center aisle.
Ahsoka turned to Anakin, who had a big grin on his face. He then gestured to the 144 men in front of them. "Go ahead. They've been waiting to see you."
Ahsoka hesitated, but she eventually found the strength to walk forward. She began to inspect her men, who all stood like statues, not moving a muscle. On closer inspection, the white markings on their orange faceplates were actually her face markings.
She was taken further aback by that realization.
"As soon as Rex and guys knew you were back, they got to work." Anakin said as he shrugged her shoulders, his voice echoing throughout the hanger.
Ahsoka turned around and walked back. When she was close enough, Rex took a step towards her, presenting his own helmet to Ahsoka. "The paint job's a little crude, but we say it gets the idea across."
Ahsoka reached out and ran her open hand across the helmet.
It was orange around the crown of the helmet, while a single orange stripe went down the faceplate on the edges of the T-shaped visor. Everything else was white. Instead of Ahsoka's white markings in the orange section, Rex opted to put white Jaig eye markings on the helmet, just like his blue armor. Ahsoka also noticed that Rex painted the blue sections of his armor orange as well, even the kama and pauldron around his shoulders and waist also had orange.
She then looked up at Rex, who was smiling.
"Glad to have you back, Commander." He said.
Ahsoka gave a weak smile. She breathed in, her breasts heaving with contemplation. "Rex, thank you. But you don't have to call me commander anymore." She said.
"Sure thing . . . er, commander." He said.
"I - I don't know what else to say," Ahsoka said.
"I do," Anakin said before he gave her a hug, which she returned. "Welcome home". After a few seconds, Anakin's com-link went off. He broke away from the hug. "That's my queue to leave. I've gotta go," he said before he turned back to the gunship.
"Master," Ahsoka said, prompting Anakin to turn back to her. "May the force be with you".
"Goodbye, Ahsoka," he said. "And may the force be with you too".
And with that, Anakin boarded the gunship, which carried him up into orbit, where Obi-Wan and half of the fleet were waiting to head back to Coruscant, and rescue the Chancellor from the evil clutches of Dooku's henchman, General Grievous.
Ahsoka watched and waited for the gunship to disappear into the clouds.
"Commander Tano..." Rex said, prompting Ahsoka to turn around to face her. "...Everything's ready. We're awaiting your orders".
Ahsoka looked at her men, which consisted of exactly 2 regiments worth of clones. All from the 501st, and transferred to the 332nd ... tempoarily.
All under her command.
'No pressure'.
Ahsoka looked up to her men. She walked over to where Rex was to get their attention.
"Alright everyone, listen up!" Ahsoka called out. "Darth Maul is in charge on Mandalore, and he's building weapons of mass destruction to use against everyone he doesn't like ... which is pretty much everyone. So our plan is simple. We punch through the Shadow Collective blockade, punch straight into Sun'dari, punch Maul in the face, win the battle, and go home. Does that sound like a plan?" She asked out loud.
Everyone in the 332nd pumped their fists in the air or clapped their hands as they cheers and whistled at her plan.
She smiled to herself.
Rex did the same.
"That's what I thought," Ahsoka said. "Now let's mount up, and get this show on the road".
RSD Sovereign, command bridge.
Ahsoka stood on the bridge of the Sovereign next to Captain Rex, and looked out the viewport. They watched as Anakin and Obi-Wan's half of the fleet jumped into hyperspace in the direction of Coruscant in order to rescue the Chancellor.
"May the Force be with you, master," she said under her breath. Then she activated her com-link and spoke into it. "All ships, set course for Mandalore and prepare to make the jump to hyperspace."
After receiving several acknowledgments from Bo-Katan Kryze and the captains of the other ships, Ahsoka felt the deck humming beneath her as the engines powered up. And seconds later, the stars began to elongate before the ships were all catapulted into the blue and white tunnel of hyperspace.
Next stop: Mandalore.
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RSV Vigilance, on the edge of the Core territories.
The two star-fighters sat side by side in the launching bay, only a few meters separating them, engines warming, droids in their sockets, cockpit canopies raised.
Neither pilot wore a helmet, so Anakin could hear Obi-Wan plainly when he shouted: "For all the jinks and jukes you've taken me trough, there's no one else I'd rather fly with."
Anakin canted his head and smiled. "It's about time you admitted it. Can I take that to mean you'll follow my lead without question?"
"To the best of my ability," Obi-Wan said. "I may not always be able to remain at your wing, but I won't be far off, and I'll always have your back."
"When I call for help, you'll come speeding to the rescue."
"The day you call for help, I'll know we're both in over our heads."
Anakin smiled and shook his head. But then he adopted a serious look. "Obi-Wan, you don't know how many times you've already rescued me."
Obi-Wan swallowed the lump that formed in his throat. "Then whatever lies ahead for us shouldn't be a problem."
Anakin laughed lightly. "Who'll restore peace to the galaxy if we don't?"
Obi-Wan returned a tight-lipped nod. "At least you said we."
They lowered the star-fighters' canopies and engaged the repulsers, lifting off, rotating 180 degrees, and easing through the launching's bay's transparent containment field.
Flying abreast, all but sharing a wing, they enabled their thrusters and banked away from the Republic Star-Destroyer. Accelerating on columns of brilliant blue energy, sluing slightly to port, slightly sinister, they coupled with their hyperspace rings and disappeared into the long night.
To be concluded in 'Rise of the Empire'.
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That's the final chapter folks.
Hope ya'll enjoyed.
This leads straight into the next story that I'm putting together. It'll be RotS with the Siege of Mandalore as a side plot. Keep an eye out for it.