Ahsoka Tano was cold.
The planet of Eea wasn't even supposed to be this cold, and yet it was freezing to the point of getting hypothermia.
Anakin wasn't lying when he said he was exhausted the last time he had been on this wasteland of a planet. The cold practically drained every last ounce of energy from you, until you finally gave up and died.
But Ahsoka was not going to die. Anakin didn't die, so why should she?
That being said, Anakin had gone through a lot of complications since he had been on Eea. Would the same thing happen to Ahsoka? Would she have visions? Would she become mentally crazy and die of insanity? What if she-
"Commander Tano?" Rex asked, stepping carefully around a pile of snow and walking up to Ahsoka. "Our scanners have detected a holo-call that took place over that way, not too long ago. We think it might be General Grievous."
"Over what way?" Ahsoka shivered, trying to make out something other than snow.
"That way," Rex pointed. "Couple hours south, then we capture Grievous, then we go back to Coruscant."
"Sure," Ahsoka grimaced. "And... we're walking?"
"How else are we going to get there? We bring anything else out, the engines will freeze, and we'll never get anywhere. We have to walk," Rex mumbled.
...
About an hour later, Ahsoka, Rex, and the rest of the 501st were tramping at about a speed of 5 miles per hour through the snow.
"Are we there yet?" shouted a clone trooper in the back of the group.
"What do you think?" another clone shouted back. "Do you see General Grievous already?"
"No," the first clone replied. "But it's been 3 hours."
"You sure your calculations were correct when you said a couple of hours?" Ahsoka yelled to Rex over the wind.
"Well," Rex started. "I think it's just over this hill."
Ahsoka growled to herself. They needed to be there now.
And then all of a sudden, they were there.
The wind had been blowing so hard, they hadn't even seen it right in front of them.
Ahsoka ignited both of her lightsabers, placing her boot carefully into the entrance of the cave.
It was strangely warm inside, and it had a feel to it like there was something hiding there. Something had to be there, way in back.
Rex and the rest of the troopers followed Ahsoka inside quietly, readying their blasters just in case General Grievous decided to make a surprise attack.
But Grievous wasn't there. Not a sound echoed throughout the cave, except a few drops of water from the icicles above.
It was eerily silent, and Ahsoka didn't like it one bit.
It was during times like these that she wished she had Anakin alongside her.
To guide her where she needed it most; to make sure nothing bad ever happened to her.
And now, Ahsoka had to continue his mission for him while he probably was resting back at the temple, hanging out with Obi Wan, and reading a holo-book.
Or maybe he was having a marshmallow eating contest.
With Anakin, you could never tell.
Ahsoka laughed just thinking about it, and that made her miss Anakin even more. At least she had Rex and the rest of the clone troopers. Without them, she'd probably be lonelier.
"Commander Tano? I think we should head out," Rex whispered, starting to back out of the cave.
"We haven't even traced the source of that holo-call yet," Ahsoka replied, frustrated. "And you said it came from right here. Are we just going in circles? Did you find tracks? Was this entire trip for nothing?"
"No, Commander," Rex sighed. "We know he's here. He's just... hiding. Or he could possibly have a trap laid out for-"
Rex was suddenly interrupted by screams, then blaster fire.
"Go, go!" Ahsoka shouted, rushing up to the cave entrance in panic, her lightsabers glowing brightly against the dark walls.
But when she and Rex reached the entrance, there was dead silence.
And nothing was there.
Except a brightly colored, seemingly glowing portal.
"What- where did everyone go?" Rex gasped, frantically searching for a trace of a clone. "What in the kriffing universe just happened?"
Ahsoka just stood there in shock.
There had been something there. Something had attacked her troopers, her friends. And now every trace of anything was gone, and in its place was a shimmering portal.
Rex shivered. "Commander... do you think-"
Ahsoka held up a hand, stopping Rex in the middle of his sentence.
She knew she probably shouldn't.
She knew that it was probably a trap.
But whatever happened, she had to find out. What if Grievous had gone in there?
It was what Anakin would've done if he were there, anyways.
Ahsoka motioned for Rex to follow her, and she stepped through the portal.
Rex hesitated for only a second, but he did the same.
After all, good soldiers followed orders.
...
As soon as Ahsoka stepped into the portal, she was standing in a pile of snow.
Wait- more snow?
She whirled around, expecting to find Grievous waiting for her, or a magnaguard, or something, but there was just more snow and ice.
This entire mission just felt wrong.
Where had Rex gone? Was this whole thing a trap? What had the portal even been there for?
"Hello there," growled a raspy voice.
Ahsoka whirled around, her lightsabers already ignited, and this time she was ready. Nobody was going to fool her with caves and portals anymore.
Grievous stood in front of her, his eyes glowing in satisfaction.
"I didn't think the Jedi would fall for my little trick," Grievous laughed.
"I was looking for you," Ahsoka shot back. "It was my decision to follow you."
She waited. And then she jumped up, her green and yellow lightsabers flashing against the cold environment of Eea, and she attacked.
Grievous was just as ready, his four arms slicing through the snow with every swing and leaving sizzling orange marks in the ice.
The sound of lightsabers echoed across the snowy plains as the two of them battled each other.
And then Ahsoka kicked Grievous backward, and she was now on top of him, with her lightsabers at his neck.
"You've failed," Ahsoka snarled. "Who told you to come here in the first place? And where are my friends?"
"You mean the clones," Grievous coughed. "They're all dead-"
Ahsoka moved her saber closer to Grievous's face. "Don't lie to me. You know exactly where they are. And you are going to tell me about that portal now."
"You will not get anything out of me," Grievous laughed.
A blue stun blast came from behind Ahsoka, hitting Grievous, and she whirled around.
It was Rex. Rex was there, along with some of the other clones from her battalion.
"Are you all right, Commander?" Rex panted, running up to her side.
"I'm okay, Rex," Ahsoka smiled. "Thanks for helping me out. What happened to you?"
"I... I honestly don't know," Rex mumbled. "But I found the rest of the boys over by where I ended up. I'm glad I found you in time."
"Rex, I had it all figured out," Ahsoka grinned, gesturing to Grievous, who was now on the snow, unconscious from Rex's stun blast.
One of the clones stared at them in confusion. "I'm glad we captured Grievous and all," he started, "but what in the Force was that portal all about?"
"One of Grievous's little games," Ahsoka replied. "But something about it was off. I don't see how he could've gained this kind of technology, much less use it. And what was he trying to do, anyways? All I understood from this mission was that we were supposed to capture General Grievous and bring him to the Republic for questioning."
"Then our mission is done," Rex confirmed. "We can go back to Coruscant now."
"This whole mission was confusing," Ahsoka shook her head. "I'll let Anakin know about it as soon as I get back. Maybe he saw a portal too the last time he was here."
"He would've told you," Rex frowned.
Ahsoka let out a half-hearted laugh. "You'd be surprised at the amount of stuff he hides from me."
"Well," replied Rex, "our scanners have just detected our ship nearby."
"Good," Ahsoka sighed. "I want to interrogate Grievous immediately as soon as we get back, then talk to Anakin, then do some research on portals, then have a marshmallow eating contest."
Rex raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"A marshmallow eating contest," Ahsoka replied, grinning. "It's been ages since I've had one of those."
"I hate to interrupt, but we really need to head back," another clone said. "There's a storm heading towards us soon."
"Sorry," Ahsoka smiled apologetically. "Let's go now. Can someone deal with Grievous?"
Two clones grabbed Grievous by the arms and started dragging him in the direction of the ship.
And they flew back to Coruscant, Ahsoka with so many questions in her head, wondering why Grievous had tried to trap her with the portal, and suddenly coming to the realization that it couldn't have been Grievous in charge of this whole operation.
There was someone telling him what to do and giving him dangerous technology and information, and they had wanted to get rid of her.
She might have captured Grievous, but they were still going to keep coming, one by one, until she was dead.
They wanted her dead.