Disclaimer – all original Star Wars characters in this fanfic (excluding my OC's) are the property of Lucasfilm and Disney.
Chapter 59 "The Seeds of Corruption – part 2"
Planet Belsavis, Plawal Rift, Plett's Well.
Ahsoka woke up with a bad headache, followed by severe chest pain. She was lying prone to the young girl, who was unconscious due to a bad hit in the head. All the young Togruta could see was utter darkness, and all she heard were loud groans around her. Reaching for her lightsaber, Ahsoka activated it, throwing some green light. They were all under a large part of the ship, and it acted like a shield against the rain of smaller parts, which would surely kill them. Luck was on their side this time, at least.
"Master!" Ahsoka yelled, gritting her teeth from the pain.
"Ahsoka?" the young Togruta heard Anakin's voice. "You're alive?"
"I think so... it hurts too much for it to be otherwise," Ahsoka responded. "Is Master Plo with you?"
"I don't know... wait," a blue lightsaber was activated not far from Ahsoka. The Padawan spotted her Master kneeling and looking around, but she couldn't see Master Plo.
"If someone's alive... call out!" Anakin exclaimed. The clones started to call just like he asked, and a few of them were alive.
"We're alive, sir!" replied Rex, which made Anakin breathe a sigh of relief. But still, Master Plo Koon didn't answer.
"Master Plo!" Ahsoka called out, looking around with the green hue of her lightsaber being her only light. The Togruta was really getting worried. Master Plo Koon found her and took her to the Jedi Temple, practically raising her. "Master Plo!" she called out again.
"I think I see him!" one of the clones called out, pointing at the body underneath a piece of scrap metal. Despite the pain, Ahsoka rushed towards the body, hoping that if it was Master Plo, he would be alright.
When Ahsoka cast the light of her lightsaber on the body, her heart stopped. It really was Master Plo, and he was breathing. Anakin approached them and knelt beside the Kel Dor Jedi Master, checking his state. "He's alive," he reassured Ahsoka. "But he's unconscious, do we have a medic?!" he asked loudly.
"Dead, sir," replied Rex.
"Dammit," said Anakin.
"Did you hear that?" Ahsoka asked, hearing starfighter engines above them.
"I don't think that's the Republic starfighters," stated Anakin, knowing all too well that sound. "Vulture droids!"
Not only above them but the sounds of battle droids were heard all around them. They were surrounded. Suddenly, a red lightsaber blade pierced through the metal above them and started to cut out a circle.
"Wait for my command!" Anakin said and prepared his blade for a battle. Ahsoka moved closer to Master Plo Koon, readying her weapon to defend him. She didn't plan on going down easily. Rex and the rest of the clones troopers also prepared for battle. Those that still had blasters aimed in the direction of the red blade. Those who didn't have a weapon grabbed anything that could be used as one.
When the red blade finished cutting and the round metal piece fell down on the ground, a sunbeam shone through the hole. "We can simply bombard this whole place and kill you all!" Darth Enigma exclaimed, preferring to not show his face just yet. "So you can agree to surrender and live, or die!"
After a few seconds, a B1 battle droid jumped down through the hole and landed on the ground. Then another and another. Each one began to aim at the clones. By their agility, Rex guessed they were the upgraded models. "Oh, great," the clone murmured under his nose.
The clones waited for Anakin's orders, and the Jedi Knight himself thought of what to do next. Darth Enigma finally jumped down and landed behind the battle droids.
"Perfect, it's the bulb nose," Ahsoka mocked.
"Perfect, it's the orange youngling," Darth Enigma retorted with a smirk, making Ahsoka frown at the Anzat.
"Darth Enigma!" Anakin growled. "You'll pay for what you did! You destroyed the Spirit of the Republic and killed Admiral Yularen!"
"He died because of you!" the Anzat snapped at the Jedi Knight. "He choose to sacrifice himself rather than surrender! He didn't belevie me because you gave me a bad reputation and branded me a manipulator and a liar while the Jedi themselves began to kill people living in this city! Did you kill everyone, or did you spare someone?"
"Have you gonna mad?!" Anakin asked. "The Sith do such things, not the Jedi!"
"Oh, really?" Darth Enigma raised his eyebrows and reached into his pocket. Pulling out a holoprojector, he approached Anakin, and while maintaining a safe distance, he activated it. "The Separatists received this call from Belsavis," the Sith Lord added. A small blue holographic image of a scared girl appeared in front of Anakin. Ahsoka noticed it was the same girl which she saved.
"Please help us," said the young girl. "A Jedi that was supposed to guard us is killing everyone. I-I think it's because of that thing... stone, t-that the Republic brought here. I know the Sith are fighting against the Jedi. Please help us, kill the Jedi and take this stone away, please!"
When the recording has ended, Anakin and Ahsoka had nothing but confusion written all over their faces. "How heartless you have to be to kill innocent children?" asked Darth Enigma.
"Shut up!" Anakin pointed his lightsaber at the Anzat. "This is your doing! You're trying to blame us for this!"
"You are no position to make accusations Jedi!" Darth Enigma growled. "I'm asking one last time. Is there anyone left alive from this town?"
Anakin didn't answer, but Ahsoka instinctively looked at the unconscious girl. Darth Enigma noticed that and followed Ahsoka's gaze. When he saw the unconscious girl, he gestured to one of the B1 battle droids to check her state. The droid complied and ran up to the girl. "She's alive, commander," the droid stated.
"Good," said Darth Enigma. "Bring her to me."
"What are you planning to do?" Ahsoka asked abruptly.
"Heal her injuries and then find out what exactly happened in this town," replied Darth Enigma turning his back to Anakin and Ahsoka. "And if I find out you're responsible for this slaughter, you'll face the consequences."
"Don't pretend that you care about the innocents!" Anakin said bluntly. "You'll kill us either way pretending to be a hero!"
"Believe what you will Skywalker," replied the Sith Lord. "I won't waste my breath on idiots with thick skulls."
The B1 battle droid grabbed the girl bride style and approached Darth Enigma. The Sith carefully took the unconscious girl from the droid. "Take their weapons and get them all outside," he ordered. "If they won't come willingly, make them."
Sometime later – Planet Belsavis, Plawal Rift, Plett's Well, Spaceport Row.
Spaceport Row was a street in Plett's Well, lined with assorted bars and cantinas. It was named due to its proximity to the local spaceport and thus being often frequented by spacers. Right now, it was the least destroyed place in the town. Thanks to that, Darth Enigma ordered to make a camp to keep the prisoners and search for any survivors.
Anakin, Ahsoka, Rex, and the seven remaining clones that survived were put in stun cuffs, rounded up, and guarded by B1 battle droids, of which two were the upgraded ones. The clone troopers were given some painkillers, and their minor wounds were treated, but that was all they could hope for at the moment. Still, it was the first time they received medical help from the Separatists.
The town turned into a graveyard filled with battle droids, who were digging up corpses of the clones and the townsfolk. It was a disturbing sight to see, especially for the young Ahsoka. Never before in her life, she saw so many corpses. But the worst thing was the words of the girl, still echoing in her mind. "The Jedi did this to us." All her life, Ahsoka was taught that the Jedi are the protectors of the galaxy, and now, she heard that one of them supposedly caused this massacre. This couldn't be true.
The blonde girl and Master Plo were aboard the Separatist's ship, which hovered above the surface and if one believed Darth Enigma, were being treated.
"What's the plan, General?" Rex whispered to Anakin, who looked around.
"I'm working on it Rex," said Anakin, but he had to admit, the Anzat had everything under control. Without their weapons, the battle droids would simply overwhelm them. Even if he and Ahsoka would use the Force, the lack of lightsabers made the battle droids, especially the upgraded ones, a serious treat. And even if they'd manage to escape, they had no methods of transportation in order to leave the planet.
"Even if we cold start a fight right now and escape, without a ship it would be only a matter of time before they'd recapture us," Anakin pointed out. "Hijacking the Separatist's shuttle would be too risky. The Vultures would easily shut us down. So the only plan right now is to wait for the opportunity to steal a holoprojector and call the Jedi Temple for reinforcements, but the question is... how?"
As Anakin thought about his plan, the Separatist's shuttle landed near them, and Darth Enigma descended the ramp. When he approached the group, he pointed at Ahsoka. "You're coming with me," he ordered.
"Hey! Where are you taking her?" asked Anakin as a B1 battle droid forced Ahsoka to stand up and move towards the shuttle. The other battle droids aimed at him with their weapons, forcing him to calm down.
"To see the Kel Dor," replied Darth Enigma. "You'll see him too, patience."
When Darth Enigma and Ahsoka ascended the ramp and boarded the shuttle, Rex leaned towards Anakin. "He's not taking any chances," stated the Captain. "He knows we won't try anything while he has her."
Anakin agreed with Rex, but he believed in Ahsoka, and on top of that, this was a good opportunity to grab a holoprojector from the ship. The human knew that this was Ahsoka's plan.
The Orbit of Planet Belsavis, Munificent-class Star Frigate, Medical Bay.
When Ahsoka and Darth Enigma boarded the frigate and left the shuttle, the Anzat took off her stun cuffs. "I'm watching you so don't try anything," he warned. Ahsoka slowly nodded, observing the Sith carefully. She followed the Sith Lord, who took her to the medical bay as he promised. She heard Anakin's plan and was aware that this was a good opportunity to find a holoprojector, but right now, she only wanted to see if Master Plo was fine.
When they entered the room guarded by two B1 battle droids, she saw the Jedi Master lying on the table and attached to a life support system. She was both happy that he was alive and sad seeing him in this state. The Togruta ran up to the Jedi Master. An A4 laboratory assistant droid was currently present at the bay, checking the Kel Dor's state. "Is he going to be okay?" asked the Togruta.
"His lungs are crushed and his antiox breath mask is malfunctioning," said the medical droid. "Without a proper medical care, he's not going to last very long, even with the life support. It's a miracle that he isn't dead already."
"Can't you do something!?" Ahsoka asked.
"This isn't a medical ship," pointed out Darth Enigma. "Yes, we have basic medical supplies, but his injuries are far greater than we can handle."
"Then let us take him to the Jedi Temple!" Ahsoka asked, turning to look at the Anzat. "The Jedi can heal him for sure!"
The Sith Lord looked at the medical droid and ordered. "Leave us." When the droid complied and left the medical bay, Darth Enigma approached the Kel Dor. "I'm pretty certain the Jedi would be able to heal him, but I'll let you go only after I'll get to the bottom of this. Unfortunately, I don't think he'll make it till then."
Ahsoka's eyes widened. She didn't want Master Plo to die. The young Padawan suddenly noticed something; Master Plo had still his lightsaber attached to his belt. Apparently, the battle droids forgot to take it away from him.
"When you and Skywalker will say your goodbyes, I will turn off the life support system," said Darth Enigma. "If he was your friend, them I'm sorry."
"No! You can't!" Ahsoka pleaded.
"Yes, I can," Darth Enigma said and turned his back to Ahsoka, heading to the control panel. "Who's gonna stop me? You?"
Ahsoka grabbed Plo Koon's lightsaber and ignited it. A blue-colored blade emerged from the lightsaber hilt, which she pointed at the Sith's back. Darth Enigma calmly turned around. The young Togruta had no idea that he deliberately left the lightsaber attached to the Jedi Master's belt for this exact moment. "Why didn't you attack me immediately when my back was turned?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"B-Because, it would be wrong," she said, her voice trembling.
"Wrong?" Darth Enigma asked, arching his black eyebrows. "Is it wrong to kill someone, who wants to kill a person important to you?"
"It's not the Jedi way," Ahsoka replied, still holding the blade pointed at the Sith. "We show mercy."
"So the Jedi code says that your duty is to protect the innocent, but it forbids you to kill the one's that are trying to kill the innocents?" Darth Enigma rolled his eyes. "That's stupid, can't you see that?"
Ahsoka lowered her eyes, not sure what to do in this situation. It was enough for Darth Enigma to yank the lightsaber hilt from her hand with the Force. He reignited Master lo Koon's lightsaber and pointed it at Ahsoka. "Now what's stopping me from killing you and him?" he asked with a frown. "You could've killed me and save everyone, but you hesitated because of your code and because of that, you're in trouble. The Sith code doesn't stop me from killing whoever I want. If anything, it encourages me to give in to my emotions."
The young Togruta stood her ground, shielding Master Plo with her own body. "Leave him alone!"
The facial features of the Anzat softened as he sighed. "If I wanted him dead, we wouldn't have this conversation," he reassured Ahsoka, lowering the lightsaber. "I can help him actually, but you have to promise me that you'll start thinking of using your own head instead of blindly following the rules of the Jedi Order."
"W-What ?" Ahsoka didn't know what to think anymore. She was so confused by the Sith's behavior.
"I'm sorry I've scared you," he said softly, approaching the young Padawan and giving her the lightsaber. "I just wanted to show you that the Jedi way isn't always the best way to save someone. I mean... if it was Darth Vundus in my place, you would've been watching your friend here dying in agony right now, while being on the brink of death yourself."
"But your not Darth Vundus," Ahsoka stated, taking the lightsaber and looking at the Anzat. "You saved me on Kiros from him. Why?"
"Because you remind me of someone I know," Darth Enigma replied, not telling Ahsoka the whole truth, of course. "Now, like I said before, I can help your friend here, but let's keep this between us. Not even Skywalker can know. If my Master would learn that I helped a Jedi, I would get in trouble."
"Didn't you get in trouble after saving me?" Ahsoka asked, tilting her head.
"A little," the Anzat smirked and winked. "Children are one thing and not every Sith is okay with killing them, but letting a Jedi Master live, to say nothing of healing him, would be really bad for me."
"I understand," Ahsoka nodded. "I won't tell anyone."
"Good," Darth Enigma replied. "I know a powerful healing technique, but I need Skywalker for that. I'll have the droids bring him here."
Ahsoka turned around and looked at the unconscious Kel Dor, placing her hand on his. "Hold on a little longer, Master Plo," she said.
Darth Enigma's holoprojector began to beep, and the Sith reached for it. "It will be better if the other Sith won't see you," he said to Ahsoka. "Can you wait outside?"
Ahsoka nodded silently and left the room. At first, she wanted to eavesdrop on the Anzat, but the presence of the two battle droids at the door prevented it. She decided to be patient and just wait for now.
When the Anzat activated his holoprojector, a holographic image of Darth Plagueis appeared in front of Darth Enigma. "Yes, Lord Plagueis?"
"Lord Enigma how is your mission coming along?" asked the Sith.
"So far, perfect," replied the Anzat. "The girl that send the message from Belsavis is alive and will explain everything to me. Skywalker and Tano are in my custody and I'm already doing my best to corrupt her. Despite being a Jedi, the Togruta is too young to see such horrors of the war. It's affecting her greatly. And on top of that, she was taught that the Jedi and the Republic are pure and saint. I'll show her the grim and evil side of the Republic, and the best part about it all..." Darth Enigma smiled sinisterly. "...is that it's not going to be a lie."
"Very good," Darth Plagueis chuckled. "And if the story of the girl is true, Sidious will be able to help us with that. Remember about this strange stone the girl talked about. We need to examine it."
"I remember, Master," replied the Anzat. The Muun ended the call with that, and Darth Enigma allowed Ahsoka to return to the room.
"Okay, let's not waste any more time," said the Sith.
When Anakin was brought to the medical bay with a B1 battle droid, he was confused and unsure what to do. Darth Enigma expected him to do something on his way there, but apparently, the lack of knowing what happened to Ahsoka kept him in check.
"What's going on?" Anakin asked suspiciously. "Ahsoka are you okay?"
"Yes, Master," Ahsoka replied.
"You should be proud of yourself Skywalker," replied Darth Enigma. "You're going to help me with something important, but you don't need to be concious for that."
Before Anakin could ask or reply, a ring made of blue light hit him from behind. A B1 battle droid, who held a DC-15A blaster carbine from one of the clone troopers, used its stun setting on the Jedi Knight, rendering him unconscious, and simply left the room.
"Master!" Ahsoka ran up to Anakin and checked his state. She looked at the Anzat. "Why did you do that?!"
"We need to keep this a secret remember?" Darth Enigma approached her and Anakin. "I can't trust him with a secret. He can help me save the Kel Dor without knowning that. I cannot heal like the Jedi, but I know a better way to mend injuries. The problem is that in the case of very bad wounds, my own Force power is not enough and I need to have more energy in order to not become completely exhausted or worse. I will drain the Force power of your Master and use it to enhance my own power. With it, I'll save the Kel Dor without risking my own health."
"What about my Master?" Ahsoka asked worriedly. "Will he be okay?"
"He won't feel anything," replied Darth Enigma. "He'll remain unconscious and wake up after some time very tired, but he won't have any injuries."
"If you need Force energy why didn't you ask for mine?" Ahsoka asked.
"Heh, I appreciate your willingness to help, but he has much more Force power than you," the Sith pointed out.
Ahsoka had to admit that the Sith was right. Her Master was much more powerful than her. "Alright then," Darth Enigma rolled Skywalker on his back and sat in a cross-legged position right next to him. He extended his right hand towards Anakin's face, his fingers almost touching it. Ahsoka noticed that Darth Enigma's eyes began to glow, and their color intensified.
"This will be fun," the Anzat with a smirk and focused. He knew Anakin didn't feel anything, but he wished he had. It would be an unpleasant feeling, suited for his idiocy. He blamed him for the death of the Admiral, who seemed to be a good man.
The air in the medical bay became cold, and the lights started to flicker. Ahsoka watched carefully as Darth Enigma siphoned the Force energy from her Master. From her perspective, it looked like Anakin was covered in red fumes, which were sucked in by Darth Enigma's hand. For the Anzat, it was an intoxicating sensation. Skywalker's power was amazing, and the Sith wondered how powerful he'd be as a Sith Lord.
"Okay, that's more than enough," Darth Enigma stated and stood up. Turning on his heel, he walked over to Master Plo and placed his hands on Kel Dor's chest while Ahsoka stayed with Anakin. Emanating a strong Force signature, Darth Enigma's whole body became covered in blue-white electric discharges, which began to spread over the Kel Dor's body. It was like someone was shocking them with Force lightning. After a few seconds, he removed his hand from Plo Koon's chest.
The Sith called the A4 laboratory assistant droid to check his state. The medical droid obediently walked over to Master Plo, and just like Darth Enigma asked, he started to thoroughly examine him. In the meantime, the Anzat, still having some spare energy from Anakin, walked over to Ahsoka and placed his palm on her forehead. "Hey, what are you... ?" Ahsoka wanted to ask, but she immediately felt a strong burst of energy pouring into her.
"I'm giving you the rest of the energy," answered the Anzat. "I'm guessing your exhausted so you'll fell much better in a few seconds."
Just like Darth Enigma said, in mere seconds, Ahsoka felt like she'd just woke up from a solid, deep sleep. Her muscles were relaxed, bruises were gone, and all small cuts were healed. "Whoah!" she clenched her fists, shocked by this crazy healing ability.
"My Lord," the medical droid spoke. "The Kel Dor's lungs are completely healed and his condition is stable. Should I remove his rebreather and ask the repair droids to fix it?"
"Yes, but don't forget to connect him to a respirator and supply him with Dorin gas and Helium instead of oxygen or he'll suffocate," reminded Darth Enigma. The droid nodded and begun his task.
"Thank you," Ahsoka said with a sigh of relief.
Before Darth Enigma could reply, a B1 battle droid, assigned to guard the small girl, entered the room. "My Lord, the girl has just regained consciousness," said the droid.
"Good," replied the Sith Lord. "Now I can finally get some answers."
Please R&R ;)