IMPORTANT NOTE: Hey everyone, this chapter gets a little dark! I tried to not go overboard on any details, but the last thing I want to do is upset anyone reading my stories! If you're sensitive to things like that, I just wanted to give you a heads up! I'm going to try my very best to give this story into an uplifting ending, (or as uplifting as something as awful as war can be) so try and hang in there! Thank you so much!- Feller

Chapter 10: Absence of Hope

The first glimpse at what was to come came about one 'click' outside from the largest Refugee's camp coordinates. Even at that distance in the dead of night, Anakin and Ashoka could see the outline of the rising smoke. As they drew ever nearer to their destination, they reached into the living Force around them for any clue of the condition of the Refugees. All they found was fear and pain. Anakin felt his stomach turn as the reality of the situation hit him. It was a trap. It was a trap and I walked right into it.

As they began the final approach to the camp on their speeders, the flicker of flames danced gently across the pitch black sky, looming ever larger as they inched closer and closer. Feelings of misery and suffering permeated the Force like little jolts of lightning. The agony pressed around them like a soaking blanket, choking out any shred of hope they had for the refugees' safety.

When Anakin and Ahsoka finally arrived in the camp, they realized that the revenge that the Syndicate had enacted was far worse than they could have possibly imagined. Every shelter was destroyed or burning to the ground. The limp, lifeless bodies of the refugees were heartlessly tossed about in a variety of positions. They had yet to find any survivors.

The pungent smell of fire and smoke burned their nostrils as they made their way through the wreckage of the camp. They walked solemnly to the charred remains of the town Command Center. The freshly delivered supplies were burned to a crisp and the bodies of the more physically able camp refugees lay cold on the ground, left where they stood during their futile last stand.

"This is horrible..." Ahsoka whispered in horror at the destruction. She'd seen many unsettling things during her brief tenure as a soldier, but this savage brutalization of innocents made her feel like throwing up. She recognized so many of the faces. Just this afternoon they were lit up with joy as they watched the Republic ship land. Now their expressions were vacant and their eyes soulless. This can't be happening. "How could somebody do something like this..."

Anakin ignored Ahsoka's mutterings, as he too noticed familiar faces among the dead. He slowly walked toward several limp bodies that were sprawled out across the ground. The steps he took were some of the most labored he'd ever taken. Every inch forward felt like ten miles. He already knew she was gone, he could feel it in the air around him. He wished with all his might that it wasn't and that she was okay, but he knew it would be a waste of his time.

First he saw Dux Bravanac, sprawled out on the floor with his eyes closed. He looked as though he was asleep. Anakin wished with all his might through the Force that his death was painless, and that he didn't have to suffer. Next to him lay Lorr Terra, who had apparently managed to take a few Syndacite grunts out with him. His body was covered in stab wounds and blaster burns. He had stayed by Dux's side as long as he could.

Finally, his eyes fell on the body of Lila Cyone. In her hand she clutched the locket that she had shown Anakin earlier. The spirit of her husband had stayed beside her until the bitter end.

A foreign feeling radiated through Anakin's soul as he looked down on the kind woman's now vacant face. An intense, burning sorrow he had only felt once before, as he had looked down upon the body of his dear Mother. She had been taken by savage beasts that only wished to inflict pain, just as poor Lila and her friends had. Feelings of anger, shame, and regret bounced ferociously inside Anakin's skull. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't find the energy.

He could only stare down at them. He couldn't think, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't act. I'm so sorry. I should have been here to protect you. It's like Mom all over again. He wasn't even aware that Ahsoka was calling to him trying to get his attention. He recognized that her voice sounded urgent, but her word's meaning was lost on him.

"G...general..." a familiar voice whimpered, shocking Anakin from the depths of his psyche. His head frantically turned to pinpoint the source of the call, and his eyes widened in shock as he saw Specs sitting upright in the corner of the now destroyed Command Center. His body was covered in blaster wounds.

Anakin and Ahsoka ran to his side, as fast as their tired legs would allow them to.

"I'm so...sorry... General...they came out of nowhere...brought them in here to keep them safe... I took out as many as I could...I tried to save Scope...I tried to save them all...I couldn't..."

"At ease, Soldier. You've gone above and beyond the call of duty. Save your strength..." Ahsoka knelt down and whispered gently, stroking the side of his head to comfort him. She reached out with the Force to try and ease some of his pain, but she recognized he was too far gone to save. She looked at Anakin sympathetically. She knew he understood.

Anakin knelt by his soldier, "You did everything you could Specs. Rest easy, brother."

"The children..." he whispered, his strength fading by the second. Anakin's eyes widened in surprise. Of all the brutality, Anakin had yet to see a single child amongst the carnage. In his dying breath, Specs croaked out, "they're...alive...they took them...going to sell...them... it's not...too...late...save...them..."

He slumped over, his last ragged breath leaving his body. He was gone, too.

The absolute savagery of the Syndicate sent Anakin's mind into a frenzy. Sell them!? It's not enough for them to completely obliterate these poor people. Now they're going to sell their children? All because they chose to back out of a deal? Anakin felt a deep, seething hatred for his enemies rise in his heart. These innocent people were ripped from this world by these ruthless animals. They need to pay.

Anakin was tired of living in a Universe where the twisted and evil manipulate, antagonize and destroy anything that has a even a semblance of goodness. For far too long he had restrained himself from doing needed to be done because of his 'Jedi Code'.

His hesitation to do what had to be done had cost so many innocent people their lives, including the Refugees. It would have been so easy to walk into the Syndicate's hideout and obliterate him. He would have done just that if not for the judgement he'd face from the Jedi Council. Instead, his inaction got people killed. He knew that their blood was on his hands.

Anakin was tired of holding back. He had the power to make it right. He owed the victims of this tragedy that closure. Now was the time for true justice. His anger gave him so much focus. He felt the cloudiness of his pain dissipate into sheer, unrestrained rage.

Ahsoka felt an icy chill run through the Force. A shiver ran down her spine as she felt its anger and cruelty. She knew where it was coming from, but admittedly the sheer amount of darkness resonating from her Master's Force energy terrified her. Swallowing her fear, she whispered softly, "Master...?"

She tried to reach out and gently touch his shoulder, but he stood quickly, brushing her off and heading back toward his speeder. Her eyes widened in surprise at the suddenness of his movement. She called after him, "Where are you going!?"

Her close connection with her Master allowed her to feel his thoughts, and the mental picture Anakin was painting shook her to her core. She saw what he was planning to do, and she couldn't allow it.

He never responded. He continued on his path, marching forward with an almost robotic rhythm. Ahsoka had to run full speed to intercept him. She was the only thing standing in his way, now. Only when she tried to impede his progress did he speak, "move. Now." He didn't sound like himself. His voice was always so warm and full of kindness. Now it was frigid and venomous.

"Not until you tell me where you're going!" They both knew what Anakin's next move would be, but Ahsoka was intent on making him say it out loud.

"Move or be moved. I'm going to do what must be done."

"You can't do this," her voice broke as she was losing the battle to hold back tears, "we have to be choose to be better than them. We can't fall to their level! If we do that, then we're spit in the face of everything we stand for!"

"I can do this, and I'm the only one who has the strength to do it. Hopefully someday you'll understand, Ahsoka."

Ahsoka stubbornly stood her ground, but her eyes pleaded with sadness, "I need you here. Please. Don't go. We have to figure out the next move...together."

Raising his hand, he casually used the Force to move Ahsoka out of his way. Even in his enraged state, he took care not to injure her as he scooted her aside. She tried valiantly to resist and keep blocking his way, but she was powerless against his raw strength to stop him. Now at his speeder bike, Anakin lifted his black Jedi robe over his head, and sped off into the night

Ahsoka collapsed to her knees, as the tears fell down her cheeks. The world around her became silent as the flames destroyed what little was left of what was once the home of the refugees. She suddenly became acutely aware of just how alone she now was.