Thank you for eagle eyes98 for helping me to write this chapter!
A few days later…
The med-station was boring, but she'd had a lot of time to think and spend time with Qui-gon in her mind. They had been talking about a lot of things, specifically if it was alright to tell Obi-Wan yet. Qui-Gon said if he brought it up, that it would be alright to tell him, but she had to instruct Obi-Wan that he could not tell the council. This was a secret that needed to stay between them. She was nervous to tell Obi-Wan to be honest, she'd kept this secret for so long since she was fourteen. She felt sick to her stomach,
"Little runner, I need you to take a deep breath, before your vitals start spiking," Qui-Gon said, watching the uptick in her heart rate on the monitor next to him. Esinon fiddled with the edge of her blanket,
"But what if he hates me afterward?" she asked,
"I don't think he is capable of hating you," Qui-Gon said, "Obi-Wan will understand, we didn't know how it worked yet."
"But we have known Qui-Gon, we've known for a while."
"It was the will of the force that he was unaware, be grateful the force is even allowing you to tell Obi-Wan period," he replied, she sighed, grumbling to herself in Ewok.
"I don't really think he shares your affinity for the force having its own 'will,'" she said, "He does a little bit, but not to the extent that you do."
"And you," he said, Esinon rolled her eyes, "Don't act like I'm wrong," she sighed,
"Well, you aren't, but not all Jedi exactly agree with you," she said,
"That is why they called me a maverick little runner," he replied, inspecting the end of his cloak sleeve. Esinon slumped on her bed,
"He's gonna hate me. I'm gonna spend the rest of my life in Agricorps." she groaned until she was knighted, she wasn't safe from Agricorps.
"Esinon, we're not gonna go down that anxious path, you have the ability to release emotions so I suggest you let some of that worry go," Qui-Gon said, Esinon sighed, closing her eyes and imagining all of the emotions leaving her body until she had released all she needed to. "You alright now?" She nodded taking a deep breath,
"You're gonna be here while I tell him, right?" she asked carefully, Qui-gon nodded, right on cue Obi-Wan appeared in the doorway.
"Good Morning padawan mine, how are you feeling?" he asked, sitting in the chair where Qui-Gon had been moments ago, Esinon wondered if Obi-Wan could sense him in the room yet.
"I'm feeling better, a whole bunch of my meds end today, specifically the one that makes me sleep all of the time, so that's a plus," she said, Obi-Wan smiled, studying her. She could sense him trying not to frown at the multitude of bandages that still covered her body.
"Esinon, I had a question," he said, scratching at his beard. She nodded,
"Calm, little runner, think calm thoughts," Qui-Gon whispered, she took a deep breath.
'He's not gonna hate me, he's not gonna, hate me, he's not gonna hate me.'
"I heard you thanking Master Qui-Gon after you woke up." he said, "And I… I don't quite understand. Did you- I don't-" Obi-Wan rubbed a hand over his beard.
"I have something I need to tell you," Esinon said, wringing her fingers. "Since I was fourteen, I think. I bonded with his kyber crystal and consequently… I bonded with Master Qui-gon," she explained, waiting for Obi-Wan's reaction. His hand stilled on his beard, that's why he could sense his old Master's force signature always intertwined with his padawan's. But how could she bond with him, he was dead.
"I- how?" Obi-Wan asked,
"I- I don't know, I just started having dreams of his memories and then we started talking and it just kept spiraling and I'm really sorry I never told you, but Qui-Gon said it wasn't time and I'm sorry that I kept a secret from you even though we promised to be honest-"
"Esinon, Esinon, slow down, slow down," Obi-Wan said, standing up and placing his hands on her shoulders. "It's alright," she threw herself into his arms, fighting past various wires to get there.
"I'm so sorry," she whimpered, Obi-Wan was a little shocked at the moment, maybe it had to do with the painkillers that Esinon was on, or she was relieved to finally be able to tell him. Maybe both. "We didn't understand how it worked, or what was happening, we should have told you earlier."
"Do you see him… often?" She glanced up at Qui-Gon who was staring at his former padawan with pain in his eyes. Qui-Gon never wanted to leave Obi-Wan, he didn't want to go so soon. It was a sore subject that Esinon tried not to bring up. She and Obi-Wan finally parted,
"It mostly happens when I'm asleep or unconscious, but sometimes I see him when I'm awake." Qui-Gon nodded for her to keep going, "He's here, right now." Obi-Wan looked around, she could feel he was hurt that he couldn't see his former Master. She grabbed Obi-Wan's hand, "Maybe I can try and bring you into our bond." She scrunched her eyes closed in concentration, gripping Obi-Wan's hand tightly. He looked around the room, waiting for something to happen. Suddenly he saw a little flicker of light in front of him, Esinon was concentrating so hard that she had levitated in her bed as she tried to drag Obi-Wan further into her and Qui-Gon's bond. She grunted at the sheer force she was exerting, and then there he was. Right in front of Obi-Wan's eyes was his old Master,
"Qui-Gon," he whispered, his former Master smiled.
"Hello Obi-Wan," he replied, smiling softly. The ghostly form stood there, glancing from Obi-Wan to Esinon who was floating higher off of her bed to keep the bond intact. "She really is quite the marvel." Obi-Wan nodded, too awe-struck to speak. "I'm so very proud of you Obi-Wan, I'm sorry that I had to leave you so early."
"I- I miss you Master," he whispered,
"I miss you too padawan mine," he replied, stepping close to Obi-Wan, placing a ghostly hand on his shoulder. "But I'm always here, if she can do it once, she can do it again."
"Did you teach her all this? Are you responsible for the memory thing?" he asked,
"I know you have a thousand questions, and Esinon can answer them, but for now, this is goodbye. Keep being brave," Obi-Wan nodded as Qui-Gon's flickering image disappeared. Esinon grunted as she fell back to the bed, grimacing as a few of her wounds were jostled. Obi-Wan stared at the spot where his Master had been, her panting filled the room. Obi-Wan turned to face his padawan,
"You're a remarkable little girl, do you know that?" he asked, Esinon smiled, feeling like a nap at the moment. Obi-Wan embraced his padawan, "That- thank you,"
"I can try and bring him back later," she said sleepily,
"I didn't think I'd ever see him again, so that is all I need," he said, releasing his padawan.
"I'm really, really, sorry I didn't tell you earlier. Master Qui-Gon said it wasn't time yet," she explained,
"I understand why, Qui-Gon did always believe in the will of the force. Is that why?" she nodded, giggling. "Now I understand why I could always sense his force presence intertwined with yours."
"It is a strange galaxy we live in," she murmured, from there she explained everything. How it all started, how she could see memories, how her and Qui-Gon's bond had grown, and that's why she had asked for his notes. Obi-Wan hadn't hated her for keeping the secret, he was quite understanding. Esinon knew she shouldn't have been worried in the first place, Obi-Wan was a very understanding person. Master Yoda was right, they made a very formidable Master and padawan duo, and it was because they listened to one another, they talked about everything, there was the kind of trust between them that not many had. A bond stronger than phrik.
Two weeks later…
"You all better take it easy with the hazing, these are my shinies," she said, glaring Hardcase, Jesse, and Fives down. Fives shrugged his shoulders,
"This is one of the sole joys I get, not giving it up. I know Hardcase is with me." Esinon sighed, she wasn't talking this down. And all shinies had to go through this. She decided to not tell them that Sharkbait would probably retaliate.
She couldn't wait to see her resourceful trooper get back at her big bad ARC brother. She started to bounce on the balls of her feet as the transports of new 501st troopers came drifting into the hanger of the Resolute.
Groups of shinies flooded out the transports, falling into the neat lines, standing ram-rod straight. The doors slid open to Rex, who strolled in his position relaxed.
"Captain on deck! Atten-tion!" someone yelled, and the shinies straightened even further, which Esinon didn't know was possible. She smirked at how the force was rippling with classic shiny excitement.
She noticed that the veterans next to her had automatically complied with the order. She straightened a little bit, she could hear Obi-Wan in the back of her mind telling her not to slouch. Rex came to a halt in front of the crowd, surveying them.
Esinon decided to tune out whatever he was saying to the shinies while she used the force to search for Delta. She eventually found them towards the back, she was tempted to brush up against their minds but decided against it because it would probably freak Dogma out. She was broken out of her trance,
"Sir, yes sir!" the shinies thundered, she grinned. She noticed a few shinies standing on their tiptoes to see the infamous Captain Rex. She even saw a few helmets tip in her direction, wondering if she was their new Commander.
"Oh you poor shinies," she giggled to herself, "Good luck with Ahsoka," Was Esinon a handful? Yes, yes she was, but she was nothing compared to Ahsoka. Rex finished explaining how they would get assignments to squads.
She was still sad Delta couldn't come and serve with the 212th, but she could sense Sharkbait's excitement to be getting to serve with the legendary boys in blue. Stupid 501st, she had a love-hate relationship with the legion, because all the troopers wanted to serve here because it was the 'cool' legion.
When she was knighted and had her own legion, they were gonna be the coolest legion. Every trooper would want to be with her and she could stuff it in Anakin's face.
"You planning something? That's your mischievous planning face," Ahsoka said, Esinon snapped back from her dreams of knighthood.
"Oh, no, just daydreaming that's all," she replied, then again, she was hoping the war would be over before she became a knight. It would be better for everyone that way.
"That'll be all, welcome to your new home! Dismissed!" Rex called, the shinies relaxed as the Captain left to go talk to the veterans about something. Now was her chance. She headed into the crowd of now chattering shinines who instantly parted as the tiny Commander strutted past. She smiled to herself as she felt the admiration radiate from the shinies, they were so easily impressed. Gah, she loved shinines, they were so adorable. She finally found who she was looking for,
"This is pretty exciting 501st stuff," she said, staring up at Sharkbait, he removed his shiny white helmet and placed it under his arm.
"I thought we were already 212th men," he teased, Esinon rolled her eyes.
"Rex beat me to it. Same thing happened with Echo and Fives," she replied, she lit up when she spotted the rest of Delta coming forward,
"Here comes your favorite, Commander," Sharkabit tased, she knew he meant Dogma. She'd spent the most time with him from Delta, only because she wanted him to connect with his brothers.
"I don't have favorites," she protested,
"Yes you do," Tup interjected, "it's me, I'm your favorite,"
"Keep dreaming shaggy," Cosmo said, shoving his brother's shoulder. Tup pulled off his helmet and sure enough, his hair was in a neat bun on his head.
"Huh, your hair was always a little past regulation," Esinon muttered to herself, thinking about how Tup's hair had always hung in his face. Made Bear mad, but Esinon let it go. It was important for the clones to express themselves.
"So are these the cadets that you've heard so much about?" Fives asked, throwing an arm around Esinon. All of Delta instantly straightened, the ARC grinned at the ram-rod straight shinies, Esinon shoved his face.
"Leave em alone Fives," she said, crossing her arms, "And yes, Fives meet Delta, Delta, Fives."
"Nice to meet you boys, I've heard a lot about you."
"So have we sir," Sharkbait said,
"You can drop the sir, and what all have you heard about me?"
"Only the good stuff," Esinon replied, "You were a good inspiration for them," Fives rolled his eyes,
"Rex would disagree,"
"Well I'm not Rex, am I?"
"You certainly are not Taz," Cosmo's HUD flashed for a moment, signaling that Delta had just received their squad assignments.
"We're with Glacier," he said happily,
"Hey, your sector's right next to me," Fives said, Esinon glanced up at him,
"That means…"
"We're with Torrent company," Dogma breathed,
"Are you responsible for this?" Fidget asked, glancing at Esinon, she shrugged,
"I guess Rex took an interest,"
"Excuse me, are you the Commander for the 501st?" she turned around to see an ARC trooper in 327th yellow, "I'm the new transfer, Bo,"
"I'm actually not the Commander, I'm with the 212th, but I'll take you to see Rex," she said, smiling up at him.
"Thank you, sir,"
"Absolutely, this way," she said, waving goodbye to Delta, mentally wishing them good luck because now they were stuck with Fives. She led Bo down the halls, "So where are you transferring from?"
"The 327th sir," he replied, so she was right about the yellow.
"Darn, you could have told Bly I say hello I'm sure he misses me," she joked, Bly thought she was a little bit too much of a handful. "I'm Commander Windcaster, by the way,"
"It's nice to meet you, sir," they finally made it to Rex's office,
"Well here we are, don't worry, Rex only looks scary," she said, "I'll see you around Bo,"
"See ya," he mumbled to himself as the young Commander disappeared in a burst of speed. So that's why they called her Commander Blur.
A few months later...
Plo Koon looked out onto the separatist camp with his binoculars, seeing wave after wave of droids exiting the shuttles that had landed there,
"Droid reinforcements have just arrived." He looked back and forth between the five Jedi that flanked him, "We shall break into four groups to divide their defenses. I'll take the left flank. Skywalker, attack the front gate, Obi-Wan, take the right. Ahsoka, Xavier, Esinon, you scale the back wall, we'll meet in the middle." His orders were met with acknowledging nods and they all stood to prepare for their departure.
Anakin turned towards his regime,
"Okay, scouts, find me a way down there, quiet-like." He emphasized while placing a hand on the shoulder of the small green creatures aiding their effort. The scouts nodded and took off,
"Going over through the front gate isn't going to be easy," Ahsoka remarked, the tornado trio starting for their group of troopers.
"You have it tougher going over that wall." Anakin countered,
"You taught me well. I can handle anything." Ahsoka said confidently, strolling towards Sinker and Boost,
"Yeah Master Skywalker," Esinon said, copying Ahsoka's swagger, and motioning to their infamous trio, "We can handle anything."
"Don't get cocky!" Anakin called after them as the three padawans disappeared into the brush with a selected group of 104th men.
Esinon slunk through the brush, with Xaiver on her left, and Ahsoka on her right, the 104th men not far behind. A low growl emitted not far from her position, she perked up,
"Hold up, I sense something out there, she murmured, signaling for everyone to stop moving. She could tell Ahsoka and Xaiver could sense life out there as well. The clones from the 104th behind her paused,
"A droid?" one asked,
"I don't think so." She looked around them warily, observing the bugs crawling up the plants around her along with the buzzing of flies,
"Probably just an animal," Ahsoka said, prompting everyone to continue towards their target. Esinon knew the elder padawan was right. It was best not to worry about something like that, they had a mission to do. "Come on, we got to get to that wall."
"Stay alert men," Esinon advised, they crept forward further until they reached the wall, hiding behind the bioluminescent plants of Felucia.
"Skywalker, Kenobi, Tornadoes, are you in position?" Master Plo asked over the comlink,
"Ready and waiting, Master Plo," Anakin responded. Tornadoes, as their Master also now called the trio, had just gotten to their objective. Esinon looked at the walls to see if the droids had noticed them
"We're in position," Ahsoka replied, Plo Koon decided that now was the time to strike, he brought up his comlink to call the tanks behind them,
"Artillery, open fire." The AT-TEs fired multiple barrages with their topside cannons. It was enough to distract the attention of the droids manning the top of the wall, Sinker and Boost made quick work of them. Xavier ignited his emerald blade first,
"Comet, Sinker, Boost, get up there," he ordered. The clones took turns firing their ascension cables on top of the wall and scaling it while the trio looked out for them. The trio split up, Xavier and Ahsoka covering the very front of the wall, as Esinon ventured out a little farther. Since she was fastest if there was some sort of animal waiting to attack them she was the best choice to take care of it. She shifted her feet warily, turning her head ever so slightly, it was enough that she had no time to see the Trandoshan fire the stun net at her.
It zapped her and she groaned as it rendered her unconscious. The Trandoshan stood over his prey, flicking his tongue as he spoke in his rustic tone,
"I can't believe my luck, a Jedi youngling." He dragged her away.
Meanwhile…
Anakin, Plo Koon, and the rest of the clones cut through the droids quickly. Plo pushed a gun walker over while Wolffe shot it to pieces and Anakin found the tactical droid, swiftly cutting it in half. He looked to Plo Koon and Obi-Wan.
"The outpost is secure." He then saw the regime Plo Koon had sent with Tornadoes, but he couldn't find any of them among them, "Good job, Corporal. Where are the Commanders?"
"They were covering our flank when we scaled the wall," Comet answered quickly, but he had no answer for where they were now.
"Everybody fan out. I want a perimeter sweep now." Anakin ordered, fearing the fate of his padawan he tried to reach her on his comlink,
"Ahsoka, state your location. Ahsoka, come in. Are you there? Can you hear me?" He looked at Obi-Wan, who tried for his padawan next,
"Esinon, state your location. Esinon, come in," Master Plo was next with the same result as the others. None of their padawans could be raised on any frequencies. Anakin tried over and over but received no response.
"Ahsoka, come in. Where could she be?" He asked himself, "Ahsoka, can you hear me? Ahsoka!" He grew frustrated, worry taking over his thoughts.
Trandoshans ship, location: unknown...
"Esinon, Esinon can you hear me? Where could she be?" She groaned as she was awoken by the faint noise of her Master's voice. She slowly sat up and panicked realizing she was in a cell. The last time she had been captured, it hadn't ended well. She pushed against the top of the cage she was in, spotting a green trandoshan flicking his tongue and holding her flashing comlink tauntingly.
"You won't be needing this anymore," he teased, smashing it in his fist and cackling as he walked away. Esinon pushed against the bars attempting to escape, trying not to panic.
The orange trandoshan stalked away from Ahsoka, she spotted the still form of Xavier a few cells down.
"Xavier," she hissed, trying to get him to wake up. The zabrak stirred,
"Ahsoka?" he murmured, slowly sitting up and holding his head. He finally opened his eyes and panicked seeing he was in a cell.
"Calm down," she whispered, "We've been captured,"
"You can't follow up 'calm down' with 'we've been captured'" he shot back, Ahsoka rolled her eyes, she looked over to another prisoner who had tucked his knees to his chest.
"Hey, what is this place?" she asked, "Who are these pirates?"
"These are trandoshans," he explained, "They're going to release us and hunt us down for sport," Across the ship, out of view from Ahsoka and Xavier, Esinon was asking the same questions, already formulating a plan. Armed with the same information as Ahsoka and Xavier, Esinon figured out that there were panels right underneath her, she figured that when they got wherever they were going, the panels would open, dropping the prisoners. After that, she wasn't planning on sticking around to find out exactly what was going to happen. She was going to use her speed to get as far away from the dropship as possible because she was alone. A few agonizing minutes later, the panels opened up, and as soon as Esinon's feet hit the ground. She was gone, disappearing into the jungle.
In the chaos of being dropped and sprinting away from laser fire, she and Xavier had been separated. Ahsoka began searching the jungle for the zabrak,
"Xavier," she hissed,
"Ahsoka?" he whispered, poking his redhead out from behind a bunch of ferns.
"Yes, it's me, are you ok?"
"Fine," he mumbled, "But we've gotta find somewhere safe," Ahsoka nodded, as Xavier stood up and the two began surveying their surroundings. The sound of leaves crunching filled their ears as someone landed behind them, both Jedi whipped around to see three young faces.
"You need to come with us," said the young girl. They began to walk up a briar, but Ahsoka was on guard,
"Who are you?" she asked, The girl paused, and turned around to look at Ahsoka,
"We used to be Jedi younglings." Xavier and Ahsoka shared a look before following her through the trees. After they had climbed to the top, they had reached the younglings' hideout. The twi'lek boy spoke up,
"We never stood a chance. They attacked us on a training mission."
The girl interjected,
"We were captured, and brought here."
"Why would they take younglings?" Xavier asked, he thought that was cruel, there was no point.
"Because Jedi Knights are too powerful for them," The Twi'lek answered.
"I'm Kalifa," The girl said, "This is O-Mer and this is Jinx," She said referring to the Cerean and Twi'lek respectively. "Who are you?"
"I'm Ahsoka Tano, this is Xavier Grerum, we were captured during the Battle of Felucia. We're padawan learners." She motioned to their silka, "What's the situation here?" Kalifa motioned for a log,
"You'd better sit down." She sat too, "We were taken by those foul lizards for their amusement. To be hunted, killed, and mounted on their wall as trophies."
"We've been stuck here for more rotations than we can count. No one has come for us," O-Mer spoke up, "I doubt anyone is still looking" He added with deflation.
"Chew on that padawan, then rest" Jinx bit, not looking at her, "You'll need your strength." Ahsoka looked back at the fire and then to Xavier, things looked bleak here… what were they supposed to do now?
Esinon leaped up onto another tree branch, it didn't feel safe to sleep. Not when she didn't know how many Trandoshans there were, where they came from if other prisoners wanted her dead, or how long she was gonna be here. She decided if she was going to make a plan for tomorrow, she was going to get up as high as possible and try and get some rest.
The next morning, Felucia…
Rex approached a meditating Skywalker, "General, we've been over the same area a dozen times, there's no sign of the Commanders."
"Not good enough, Rex, try again." The expression on his face gave away his anger. Rex nodded and continued his search, he was worried about the Commanders whether General Skywalker would acknowledge that or not. Cody and Wolffe were the same way, Cody had been silent for the most part while he and General Kenobi tried to comfort one another. Wolffe on the other hand had been snapping at anyone who got within a klick of him. He was worried about his Wolffe pup as he liked to call Xavier and just had a funny way of showing it.
Plo Koon walked up next to Anakin, "We have alerted our forces throughout the Outer Rim and intelligence assets inside the Confederacy." Plo Koon thought about what would calm him down, "If they're spotted, we shall know about it." Both of the Masters had been doing a considerably better job at hiding their worry than Anakin had, but he was always known to be a little more emotional.
"Good." Anakin relaxed slightly.
"Skywalker, our mission here is finished." Plo said, "We must return to Coruscant."
"I am not abandoning her." Anakin refused, Plo Koon could see through him,
"Your emotions are clouding your judgment." He warned,
"I will not leave her fate up to others."
"It's time to go." Plo wasn't going to let him act out, despite what Skywalker thought, he was concerned about Xavier, but he knew that the little zabrak could take care of himself. Anakin resigned, deciding that this was the appropriate course of action, he activated his comlink,
"Call everybody in, Rex, we're leaving." Then he boarded the gunship along with Plo, and Obi-Wan.
Trandoshan island, location unknown…
Esinon had decided it was safest to keep moving and survey from afar. She'd spotted a few trandoshans already, luckily they hadn't seen her. They came out in hover pods, which were too big to follow her into really thick brush. She'd already witnessed a prisoner killed, the man who she had been dropped off with. She felt sick because she could do anything, it was too much like Sarrish, there was only one difference, she could move. She glanced down at her gauntlet where the Foxtrot insignia was painted, her heart clenched, she paused in the tree she was perched in. She shook herself from the memories and forced herself to keep going.
Another thing she had decided was that it wasn't a good idea to engage any of the trandoshans, they had big guns, big hands, and big muscles. She couldn't risk using too much of her speed because she didn't know how long she was going to be out here, and she didn't want to starve to death before someone came for her. At least she kept trying to convince herself that someone would come for her, the thought of abandonment hanging in the air around her. No matter how many times Obi-Wan proved himself of never leaving her behind, some feelings she just couldn't shake. Her past stayed with her, it always would.
After a few more minutes of slinking through the trees, a convor began flitting around her head. Esinon swatted at the bird, stupid thing was going to give away her position as it babbled.
"Shh," she snapped, the female convor twittered louder, wrapping its tail around her finger and attempting to pull her somewhere. "Shut up, you're gonna get me killed!" she hissed, the convor continued to twitter, trying to motion at something, "Do you want me to follow you? Is that it?" The convor nodded, Esinon shrugged, better than wandering aimlessly through the forest.
Ahsoka jumped down from the tree, landing gracefully on the ground, with Xavier not far behind her,
"Here, lizard, lizard. Come and find me." She taunted the predator she knew was watching her. She heard the low growl and turned around to see a trandoshan lining her up. She used the force to make him miss and then threw him against the trunk of a tree, making him drop his rifle. Xavier lunged for the hunter but was quickly grabbed by the arm and thrown into a nearby tree. Just as the Trandoshan was about to fire a blur hit his head, it was Esinon?! What in the world was she doing here? After a few seconds of Esinon wrestling the Trandoshan, he outmuscled her and threw the padawan into a nearby tree. The Trandoshan walked back over to his blaster and took aim. But he was lifted from the ground, grabbing his throat as he struggled with the force choke.
Ahsoka saw Kalifa and the others behind him, her face was marred with a lust for revenge, she tightened her grip on the hunter,
"Kalifa! Don't kill him out of hatred." Ahsoka ran up to her, trying to soothe her, "It's not the Jedi way." Kalifa relented and released their assailant. Ahsoka rubbed her arm to comfort her.
It wasn't long after that the trandoshan let out his cry for help. The screech reached all corners of the jungle. He got up again and tried to fight them, but Esinon and Xavier flung him into a tree again, knocking him unconscious. The Scipian stumbled a little, looking exhausted, Xavier caught her arm before she could hit the ground.
"Esinon, what are you doing here?"
"Run now, explain later," she panted, Ahsoka snatched the rifle off the ground as they followed Kalifa, O-Mer, and Jinx back to their hideout.
Later that night...
Ahsoka and the others were gathered around a fire in their hideout, she was trying to practice with the rifle but she couldn't get it to fire, Xavier had been watching Esinon who was warily watching the entrance, flinching at every quiet noise. Ahsoka knew that all of this reminded her too much of Sarrish, and was trying not to probe about it.
"I don't understand, why won't this thing work?" She asked as she looked down the sights and pulled the trigger repeatedly. Jinx sat up from his spot higher in the tree,
"The Trandoshans deactivate the blasters if we take them. That is why none of us have any." Ahsoka's frustration showed through as she threw the blaster to the side and leaned into her hand. Xavier came over and sat down next to her, placing his hand on her knee and smiling reassuringly.
"It's been a long time since the Trandoshans captured another Padawan and brought them here." Kalifa tried to reassure her.
"Thanks," Ahsoka replied sarcastically
"I didn't mean it as an insult." She insisted, "I meant it as a sign, a mistake on their part. All three of you, your energy, your strength, it's what we've been lacking." She stood up and walked around the fire, "We were beginning to lose hope and forgot who we are." She joined the O-Mer and Jinx on the other side.
"And who are you?" Xavier asked
"We are Jedi," Kalifa responded confidently, O-Mer and Jinx nodded behind her. Ahsoka smiled, her faith renewed, Esinon noticed the scene and finally stood up.
"All right, we need a strategy," Esinon said,
"So, what do you suggest?" Jinx shrugged his shoulders.
"What about a base?" Ahsoka asked,
"Yeah, they have to come from somewhere," Xavier added, the Tornadoes switching into Commander mode. Kalifa turned her down,
"Not that we've ever seen."
"So where do they come from?" Esinon asked,
"Well, we don't know, we've only witnessed them hunting and in their hover pods," Kalifa said.
The Tornadoes knew they had to have some sort of base, they just needed to find it.
"If we are gonna go on the offensive, we'll need to find out where they live. We'll start covering ground tomorrow." Ahsoka said,
The Resolute, hyperspace…
Fives could hear someone crying… sobbing. Something was wrong, he sprinted around the trees of the Felucia, pistols in hand.
"Please, stop!" a female voice cried, Fives ran faster he knew that voice, it was Esinon's voice. He burst through the tree line and saw her kneeling in front of an orange-clad clone, holding her abdomen as blood seeped everywhere. There was a dark figure stalking closer to a sobbing Esinon, "Please just leave me alone! I've given you everything you wanted!"
"Except your life," the creature hissed, Esinon tried to move but instantly froze at the sight of a knife in his hand. Fives aimed and fired, the creature collapsed. Esinon's eyes fluttered and she started for the ground, Fives caught her before she hit the ground, gently easing her into the Felucian dirt.
"Fives…" she whispered, looking blankly up at him. Fives was busy at the moment, trying to get ahold of a medic and staunch the blood coming from the large gash in her side.
"Shhh," he soothed, "Save your strength," He swore under his breath, his comlink wasn't working,
"Fives, I'm not scared," she murmured,
"Stop talking like that," he said sternly, "You're gonna be fine," Fives could feel blood soaking through his gloves, sticky and warm.
"Can you promise me something?" She whispered, her breathing staggered and weak.
"Stop,"
"Fives," her eyes were pleading with him as she weakly put a hand over his. "Please promise me you won't be angry, I know you'll want to be," Fives dropped his head, his chin trembling as tears blurred his vision.
"I promise," she nodded, smiling softly,
"I am one with the force…" she never finished her sentence as her last breath escaped from her lips. She went uncharacteristically still, her eyes glassy, a small smile still etched upon her face. She looked so peaceful… Fives was frozen in shock and grief. This was just like Echo, he couldn't do anything, why could he never do anything!
Fives's eyes whipped open, he was breathing hard, his chest heaving in dry breaths. He sat up, shakily running his hands through his hair.
"It's not real," he muttered to himself, Del shifted in his bunk. Fives's nightmares were getting worse, and Esinon had only been gone for two days. He couldn't sleep, every time he closed his eyes all he could see was Esinon's still form. He needed to hit something, let everything fall away. He started for his armor,
"Where are you going?" Attie muttered, rolling over to face him, "Go back to sleep, Fives."
"I gotta go do something," Fives said, not stopping his task of getting his armor on.
"Fives, I'm gonna wake Coric. Go back to sleep," Attie grumbled, giving him a stern look. Fives glared at him,
"I'm gonna go hit something, and you can't stop me."
"But I can," Del said, sitting up, "Fives what's wrong?"
"I had a nightmare, that's all. I need to clear my head." Fives flipped the straps on his chest plates, starting for his gauntlets.
"About what Fives?" Del probed, Fives had a feeling that his Sargent probably already knew what it was about. The ARC shook his head,
"I'm fine," he replied, strapping his kamas around his waist.
"If you're worried about Commander Windcaster, you've gotta know she can take care of herself," Del said,
"Well you're not the one watching her kriffing bleed out every night," Fives snapped, the ARC let out a slow sigh, sinking into a crouch and covering his face with his hands. Fives sucked in a harsh breath, sitting down against the wall, "I'm sorry,"
"Look, we're all worried about the Commanders," Attie said, "They took our Tornadoes, but you need to take a deep breath." Fives grit his teeth, he knew Attie was right, but it's not what he wanted to hear.
"I hate this," he hissed, his hands clenching his fists. "The nightmares are getting worse, and I'm helpless as Esinon bleeds out. And I hate it, because I couldn't do anything with Echo, and now she gets taken and I can't do anything about it!" Del stared at Fives intently for a moment,
"We know about helplessness," Del said slowly, Fives looked up for a moment before scrunching his eyes shut and resting his head against the wall in realization. These were Teth survivors they were talking about. Six men after their entire company had been wiped out, had been pinned down by the Separatists. They probably felt pretty helpless. "We know it's easy to assume the worst, especially when you're having nightmares about it too. But you've got to trust Esinon to come back, just like she's trusted you so many times."
"It's hard," Fives muttered, Attie sat down next to the ARC, wrapping an arm around him.
"I know, but we have to have hope," Del said, sitting down on Fives's other side. His Sargent tapped the Scipian markings on his chest, "Like she would want you to." Fives smiled only the tiniest bit.
"Go back to sleep, all of you," Coric mumbled, rolling over in his bunk. The three troopers chuckled,
"How about you hit things tomorrow," Del said, "And we can all come with you,"
"Deal," Fives agreed, starting to unclip his armor. He finally got to his chest plate, smiling fondly at the Scipian markings, running a thumb over the worn paint. Survival, determination, grace, kindness, and… hope. Hope in the face of adversity. He had promised himself the day he painted those markings that he would never let her down. He would have hope. He would have faith. He would have trust.
That same night, Trandoshan island…
Ahsoka jolted out of her vision, looking around, everyone was still asleep, the fire crackling, well, almost everyone. Esinon was sitting at the entrance of the hideout, knees tucked under her chin. Ahsoka could sense the silent distress coming from her friend, she needed Esinon to be focused while they were out here. The Togruta stood up and came to sit down next to the Scipian.
"You ok?" she asked softly, Esinon didn't answer, rubbing her thumb over the Foxtrot insignia.
"I don't know if I can do this," Esinon whispered, "I… I'm a liability. I think I should stay here."
"Esinon, we need you tomorrow. You're the fastest of all of us, you're our hope of getting out of here."
"Ahsoka!" Esinon nearly shouted it wasn't loud enough to wake anyone luckily. "I can't," she whispered, starting to tremble. "It's… too much like Sarrish. I can't do anything, I can move, but I freeze. I'm gonna get someone killed," Ahsoka wrapped an arm around her friend,
"Esinon, I know that Sarrish is something that you might never recover from fully… but you are a survivor. And we can survive this, you know what's different about here than Sarrish?" Esinon shook her head, "We're here, you're not alone. There are six of us fighting together, and we're all going to make it out alive."
"I'm scared Soka," she whispered,
"To be frank with you, I'm downright terrified, but I'm not going to let that stop me. Now come on, we'll need to rest for tomorrow." The Scipian allowed herself to be led back inside the hideout. Ahsoka sat down, wrapping her arms around Esinon, forcing the Scipian to curl up in her side. A few minutes later Esinon had fallen into a deep sleep, Xavier stumbled over half asleep, using Esinon's back as a pillow. They felt safer together.
Oh Sarrish always comes back to bite Esinon in the butt. Just to let you guys know, Esinon does have a lot of triggers, nightmares, and general anxieties associated with Sarrish. We don't see it all the time just because we gotta keep the story moving.
Phrik is a metal that's basically indestructible in star wars.
Loved rewriting that scene of Fives four times. Ugh. Writing will never not be hard.
Next up on let's make this canon corner: Xavier loves messing around with explosives. He's created a lot of new bombs for the 104th. He's the reason that Esinon knew how to make a Rhydonium bomb on Rishi
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