Chapter 16 - The Malevolence

DISCLAIMER: We (unfortunately) do not own Star Wars. :P

Author's Note: In which the Malevolence arc begins... and the major divergences begin. :D

Many thanks to loldelegate here on ff. net who has been giving us advice and suggestions for this fic! We never could have made so many unique plans without you! :D

~ Amina Gila

"We've had no further contact with General Plo Koon," Ahsoka is reporting. Anakin stands next to Obi-Wan in front of a number of other holograms of Masters Yoda and Windu, Chancellor Palpatine, and finally, Ahsoka, who's giving a her mission's report.

He stiffens instantly at her words. They can't find Plo, and he knows to well what that means. Plo was the one who brought him to the Temple, who looked out for him, at least to a point, in his early years when he was still adjusting. Now... now he might be gone. It's predictable in war. Anakin has no idea who's next, and even his closest friends – his family – aren't an exception.

"The absence of distress beacons indicates that his fleet was destroyed like the others. We are about to prepare a rescue mission," Ahsoka finishes.

"Hasn't clone intelligence reported this weapon never leaves any survivors?" objects Palpatine.

"The Separatists are being unusually tidy. They won't want any witnesses," Obi-Wan comments.

"Tragic are those losses, but prevent more, we must," Yoda murmurs.

"All our battle groups will be assigned to guard our supply convoys, including yours, Tano. I'm afraid we can't risk any more ships with a rescue mission," decides Windu. No. This... this means they're going to assume Plo is dead, even though he's not – Anakin can feel him; they have a bond – and he's going to die for sure if they don't try to help him.

Something flickers across Ahsoka's face, and Anakin gets the feeling that she isn't at all happy with what the Council is telling her, and for a moment he almost thinks she might be planning to protest. "I will deploy as you have instructed, Master," she nods instead before the connection breaks.

Anakin turns to Obi-Wan as soon as the call ends. "Master," he says. "Plo's still alive. I can feel him. If we don't try to help..."

"There's nothing we can do," Obi-Wan objects. "Not without getting ourselves killed in the process. As Master Yoda said, preventing more losses is more important."

"But –"

"No." That tone says he's done with this argument.

Anakin suppresses the urge to scream in sheer frustration. He doesn't know how he can be expected to just sit by uncaringly while someone he cares for so much dies. It's wrong. It's not what the Jedi were meant to be.

**w**

Ahsoka has spent a lot of time considering her conversation with Palpatine. If she's going to try to ally with Dooku, it will only work if she can talk to him alone. And that would mean a one-on-one fight, most likely. It's something she has to be prepared for, anyway. She's been working on learning more of Form II, and brushing up on her knowledge of Form III with Obi-Wan, but she still has a ways to go. She needs to start adjusting her own favored form, Form IV, to incorporate more of Makashi. That's what Dooku uses, and she has to be able to counter it.

He's also really good with telekinesis, and there's not much she can do about that, except to be ready for it and improve her Force shielding. But then there's his lightning. She has to be able to block it with her hands, the way she saw Yoda doing on Geonosis. She's seen Master Plo using electric judgement before, the Jedi's version of Force lightning, so, maybe... he could teach her how to do that, or at least how to counter it with the Force.

She has the perfect opportunity right now, seeing as she just rescued him from the Malevolence. She found him in the debris surrounding the system relatively quickly thanks to their bond, and they had enough time to shut off the droids and systems before the Malevolence came into view. The moment the ship was gone, they made a hasty exit into hyperspace.

"Master Plo?" she speaks up finally.

"What is it, Ahsoka?"

How to go about this without making it seem... strange? "I sensed Dooku back there," she declares after a moment. "I'm sure I'll end up fighting him again at some point, and I want to be ready. Can you teach me how to block lightning with my hands?"

**w**

The flagship of the 212th Battalion jolts out of hyperspace, revealing the Malevolence looming in front of the Republic forces. The medical station has already been almost entirely destroyed, and a group of transports, while still whole, are stranded. They must have been hit by the ion cannon already. The cruisers move into position and start firing.

A familiar thrill rushes through Anakin as he scrambles into his fighter. They already discussed the details of the plan via hologram while they were in hyperspace. The ship is too large to cause significant damage with the Republic Star Destroyers, so they'll have to take out the ion cannons which will hopefully buy them enough time to destroy the ship before it can escape. Enough Jedi and clones have died. It's time they put an end to this monstrosity.

He, Obi-Wan, and the clones take off out of the cruiser, and he sees Plo's and Ahsoka's fighters leaving the other, with a squadron of clones.

A group of vulture droids is launched instantly, and the battle begins. Anakin spins his fighter away from the oncoming laser bolts, diving after one of the vulture droids and blowing it to smithereens. He lets himself sink into the Force, systematically working his way through the droids. It could almost be a game, except real lives are involved, and he can occasionally feel the clones being shot down. It's something he pushes to the back of his mind. He doesn't have time to dwell on it now.

"This isn't going to work!" Ahsoka yells over the comms. "We have to get the ion cannon destroyed before it fires at our cruisers!"

"On it," Anakin replies immediately, blasting apart another vulture droid before diving towards the massive ship.

"Change of target," Obi-Wan tells the clones without an argument, surprisingly. "We're going for the cannons." The Jedi Master takes lead of the 212th's forces, Anakin right behind him, as they fly closer to the Malevolence and skim across the top, narrowly avoiding the green laser bolts being shot at them.

Anakin sees as well as senses the ion cannon charging, preparing to fire on the Republic's cruisers. If it has time to go off, they're going to be stranded here, and the Malevolence will likely have time to escape. No, it's not an option.

He throws his fighter forwards, full speed ahead. The fighters dip over the edge of the ship, right in clear view. "Torpedoes away," Anakin sings out, firing. He doesn't wait, instantly pulling his ship upwards and safely clear from the explosion.

"Ahsoka?" Obi-Wan asks.

"I'm here," comes the reply, "It's not like the ship spontaneously combusted."

"Congratulations," Obi-Wan responds. "All of you. Our part of the battle is done. We should return to our cruiser and assess the situation from there."

The moment they return, Obi-Wan gives his three cruisers the order to open fire on the Malevolence. Even as damaged as it is now, it'll take an awful lot of firepower to destroy a ship of that size. At least they finally have a chance though. So many Jedi and clones have been lost to it. He's quietly grateful that Ahsoka disobeyed the Council and went in search of Plo, finding him and a few of his men who were still alive. No one else would have done what she did. Well, he would have, if he'd had the chance.

He wonders how Republic will be affected now that it's lost one of its most important medical stations. Even if they do manage to destroy the Malevolence, it will be a huge blow to the Republic. More clones will suffer and/or die as they wait for medical treatment from other locations. It also means that the other stations will become far more crowded as they have to accommodate the additional patients.

Plo joins them on the bridge, and Anakin immediately heads over to him. He stops short of hugging him only because it seems rather inappropriate in front of all the clones. "Master Plo, are you alright?" he asks worriedly.

"I'm fine, young one," he replies, a smile audible in his words.

"Commander, what is the damage level to the enemy ship?" Obi-Wan asks from the front where he stands, watching the battle.

"She's lost her primary shields and stabilizes," reports Cody, "But the ship is so massive, it can take all the fire our cannons can give it." Anakin doesn't know the clone well, though they are a sort of friends, at least he'd like to think so. He reminds him a little of Obi-Wan, if he's being honest. Stuck on the rules, to the book, overly obsessed with boring protocol procedures...

"We must summon reinforcements," murmurs Plo.

"That's what I'm here for," announces a familiar voice from the doorway. Ahsoka steps onto the bridge, the doors closing behind her as she walks over to join them.

"Were you able to contact Master Luminara?" asks Obi-Wan.

"Yes, Master. She's busy with a fleet of Separatist reinforcements nearby," Ahsoka replies, "We won't be getting any help from her until she's dealt with them."

"Then we'll have to make do with what we have," his master decides, turning his attention back to the viewport.

"They're not attempting to jump to hyperspace," Admiral Yularen reports, "Their hyperdrive must be damaged."

"This is our chance," declares Obi-Wan, "All ships target the bridge. Maximum firepower!"

But even with all of the ships opening fire on the Malevolence, it's still holding together remarkably well. And they only have until the hyperdrive is fixed before the ship escapes. Fixing the hyperdrive is going to be Grievous' main goal now, and it's not very likely that the Republic ships will be able to destroy the Malevolence in the meantime. It will take a lot longer than that.

No, they really need to try something else. And that's when an idea suddenly hits Anakin, however irrational it may be. "Maybe... we can try to get aboard and blow it up from the inside out?" he suggests slowly, "At least that way we can make sure that Grievous doesn't escape."

"That's extremely risky," Obi-Wan objects with a frown.

"Better than standing here hoping we'll be able to destroy the ship before they repair the hyperdrive," Ahsoka asserts, crossing her arms.

"It is dangerous," Plo says, after a moment of seeming contemplation, "But perhaps it would be the most effective way of destroying the ship."

"We could sabotage the main reactor," Ahsoka suggests. "That would guarantee the ship blows even if the hyperdrive is fixed."

"I agree," Plo declares. "We must destroy this ship before the hyperdrive is repaired."

"I have a bad feeling about this," sighs Obi-Wan.

Anakin certainly doesn't. He has the best feeling about this he's ever had.

"I trust you've already formulated a brilliant plan on how to get onto the Malevolence in the first place?" Obi-Wan asks as Ahsoka slides into the pilot's seat, Anakin settles down behind her. It makes the most sense, after all. He is just a padawan. Even if he is a good pilot, he's hardly the one that should be flying unless he's told to.

"Actually, I have," chirps Anakin brightly. He can only hope that they'll take him seriously, despite his young age. It's hard being Obi-Wan's Padawan. He constantly feels as if he has to live up the great man who is master is, not to mention his Padawan sister.

"Really?" asks Ahsoka doubtfully.

"The enemy's sensors are obviously damaged, so we'll sneak in behind them and dock at the emergency airlock," he replies, glancing between the other two, "I mean... unless someone else has a better plan?"

"That should do," she agrees.

"That's your plan?" Obi-Wan echoes incredulously, as Ahsoka flies the ship away from the Republic cruisers towards the Malevolence, "Just fly there, land, hope they don't spot us, and walk in the door?"

"Basically," he confirms.

"Oh, brilliant. Then let's get going."

"I don't know if you've noticed, but we already are," Ahsoka smirks.

They discuss the rest of the plan on the way to the Malevolence. Obi-Wan will go to sabotage the hyperdrive, and Anakin and Ahsoka will be going to set timed explosives in the main reactor. They just need to get there and out without anyone noticing.

"If they spot us, we'll be pulverized," warns Obi-Wan.

"That's why we won't let ourselves be spotted," Ahsoka says cheerfully.

"They're busy repairing the ship. They don't have time to notice us," Anakin argues.

Thankfully without much further ado, the ship docks at the airlock. Anakin can finally hear battle droids as the doors to the airlock slide open. Sure enough, two of them are standing right on the other side. "It's them! It's them!" shrieks one of the droids, but they're all in pieces before they have time to fire.

"Stay here, Artoo," Ahsoka instructs her droid before the three of them take off, going their separate ways. "I hope you know what we're doing."

"I thought you were my biggest supporter," he complains a bit teasingly.

"I am, not to worry, but this is risky."

"And here I thought you were good at stealth."

Ahsoka scoffs. "I am but running around on an enemy ship is a little different than sneaking past a blockade with an invisible ship."

"Yeah, Christophsis was quite the mess before I arrived, wasn't it?"

She laughs, then grows serious. "Yes, it was."

The Separatists had a blockade around the planet, from what Anakin heard about the battle. It was led by someone named Trench. Ahsoka had gotten some supplies down to the surface undetected, and then Obi-Wan attacked the fleet. Ahsoka was able to blow up their main ship using her invisible supply ship which they had yet to detect since they were distracted, but Trench escaped alive. Still, it was bad, and a lot of lives were lost. Anakin doesn't care if everyone claims the clones are just soldiers. They're still people, and they matter, even if the Republic and most of the Jedi don't seem to agree.

This is Anakin's first stealth mission, and one of his first missions ever, so he is undeniably nervous. While he has done his fair share of sneaking around undetected, it's never been in a situation of life and death.

"Just follow me," Ahsoka orders in a low voice as they back against the wall.

He nods, and they dart out of sight as the clanking of some approaching battle droids reaches his ears.

"Did you hear that?" one of them asks, coming to a stop.

"I didn't hear anything," another squawks. They're quite for a moment, presumably waiting before they finally keep moving.

"I hope the entire way won't be like this," Anakin mutters as they step out of their hiding spot and keep moving down the halls.

They turn another corner into another hall, just as a battle droid patrol steps into view from the other end. "Jedi!" shouts one of the droids, aiming its blaster. Anakin whips out a lightsaber and chops them both in half before they start firing. The last thing they need is to make a commotion.

It takes them long enough to reach the main reactor, since they have to keep ducking droid patrols on the way, but Anakin can only be grateful that they haven't been spotted more than once.

"The generator is clear," Ahsoka reports, scanning the area. It's too dark for him to tell, but Togrutas have night vision.

"Where exactly are we putting these?" Anakin asks, walking up to the generator. "We won't want them in plain sight, in case some droids come back in here. You'll have to wait to set them off until we're at the hanger, and that could be a while."

"Good thinking," she agrees.

It takes a matter of minutes for them to plant explosives as discreetly as possible while keeping them mostly out of sight. Ahsoka goes to scout out the hall while Anakin stays behind to comm Obi-Wan.

"Mission complete," Anakin informs him as soon as the connection is established.

Obi-Wan starts to reply, but the only thing that comes across the line is broken up syllables and static. "Obi-Wan?" Ahsoka calls.

All Anakin can gather from Obi-Wan is saying is something about the ship. Hopefully that means he accomplished his mission by now.

"Master?" Anakin calls again, but the connection promptly breaks altogether. "I think the enemy picked that up," he warns in a low voice, peaking around the corner of the hall. More battle droids are passing, and they need to stay quiet to avoid detection.

"Possibly," Ahsoka agrees grimly. "We have to hurry."

They take off again, dodging the droid patrols like they were before. But somehow, Anakin knows something is about to go wrong. He can't quite place where though. As they're nearing the main transport center of the ship, Anakin suddenly senses an approaching dark presence.

Ventress stands at the end of the hall, lightsabers ignited, a whole battalion of super battle droids positioned behind her.

"Ventress," hisses Ahsoka, eyes narrowing as she ignites her lightsabers.

Anakin activates his own, holding them ready for attack.

"You have made a grave mistake in coming here, Jedi," taunts the Sith assassin.

"We'll see," Ahsoka replies almost coldly before charging at her.

Ventress cackles, running forward to meet the two green blades with her red ones. Their lightsabers clash, before Anakin leaps into the fight. The Zabrak pulls back for a moment, spinning to intercept his blows before throwing a Force shove at Ahsoka. She's hurled across the hall into the wall, and Ventress turns her full attention to Anakin.

It's fine, really. He has nothing to worry about. That doesn't stop the unease snaking down his spine. Ventress has proved a challenge to Jedi Masters even, and no matter how skilled Anakin is, he knows he could never beat her. All he can do is trust the Force to protect him. The assassin's attacks are relentless, and it's all he can do to keep up with them, defending himself as best he can, dropping his shields as he lets go, allowing the Force to guide him entirely.

Behind him, the droids open fire. Ahsoka jumps up again and runs to cover for him, slicing through the droids. She seems to be handling it fine, not that Anakin would have a chance to assist her anyway at the moment.

Anakin lashes out towards Ventress' side, a blow which she blocks, counterattacking by swiping at his leg. He uses his left hand to stop her, and their lightsabers remain trapped in a saberlock until Anakin uses the Force to shove Ventress back. Using her momentary distraction, he whirls, helping Ahsoka take down the rest of the droids. It would be easier for them to fight her together. He spins his lightsabers, deflecting the bolts back at the super battle droids before running forwards, slashing through the two in the front, flicking his left hand in such a way so as to deflect the next volley of shots.

Ventress dives at them again, and Ahsoka spins around to meet her assault, letting Anakin focus solely on the droids. A lot of them have been taken down now, but there's still many more to go. But he's fought more on the battlefield. He can do this.

Letting himself sink deeper into the Force, Anakin continues working through the droids, deflecting when he can, while cutting them through every opportunity he gets. Finally, he destroys the last one, turning around to see Ventress' and Ahsoka's blades locking together. The Togruta suddenly Force kicks her backwards, straight off the ledge in the moving traffic down below.

Anakin's about to let out a sigh of relief when he hears the clattering of droids and several destroyers approaching. "We need to split up," Ahsoka says, glancing around. "Run. I'll be right behind you."

He doesn't want to, but he nods anyway. He glances back one last time, then jumps out onto a passing train. He makes out the sound of lightsabers clashing in the vast expanse in the center of the Malevolence which he can see through the doorway at the end of the hall. His master is fighting Grievous, the fight working its way across the trains. Obi-Wan throws Grievous off his train and continues along out of sight. Nice. Anakin just hopes he won't become the General's next interest. He is not equipped to deal with such a maniac.

He needs to keep moving and reach the hanger without dragging Grievous or Ventress along with him. Hopefully Artoo has been alright back at the ship. He's jumping from one train to a nearby one when there's a flash of red behind him accompanied by a flare of danger in the Force. Anakin spins around to see Ventress landing right behind him, lightsabers activated.

Just what he needs. He's can't drag her to the hanger. That's too risky. He'll have to find another way to lose her. Anakin takes off running again, using the Force to enhance his speed, going through the nearest door he can find leading out of the main transport center, Ventress right behind him.

They don't have time for this. The bombs will be going off any minute now, and he'll never be able to reach the Twilight anymore. He'll have to use the escape pods. Good thing he's already going that direction.

"Master?" Anakin calls, pushing the button on his comm as he keeps running.

"Anakin? Where are you?" demands a very worried Jedi Master.

"I can't make it to the ship," he replies, "Leave. I'll find my own way off."

"Anakin, wait!"

He not so accidentally disconnects the call instead. He doesn't have time or air to carry on a conversation right now.

He's running into the last hall approaching the escape pods when Ventress catches up, letting out a furious shriek as she flips through the air, landing right next to him and slashing for where his head was a second ago.

Anakin ducks under the red blades, blocking them with his own blue ones, as he throws Ventress down the hall. He leaps backwards into the escape pod, rapidly pushing the buttons to launch it. It's not fast enough. He feels Ventress leap through the door right as it closes, but there's not much he can do about it, except curse his luck. With the escape pod rocketing away from the Malevolence, Anakin feels secure enough to turn to the assassin just as the Force blares a warning. He ducks, despite the limited space, bodily slamming into Ventress to knock her back, though she still hits something on the control panel – he can hear the sparking.

"Are you insane?" he hisses reigniting his lightsabers to block her next downwards strike. "You're going to get us both killed!"

Ventress retaliates by spinning her blades, nicking one of the walls. Anakin can see her as being spiteful enough to intentionally kill both of them, though he doesn't know what she might gain by doing so. He raises a hand, throwing her backwards with enough force that she hits the door before falling to the floor, her lightsaber hilts falling from her hands. Anakin calls them to him with the Force, before turning towards the control panel to steer the pod to a safer location. He doesn't really want to be blown up in the space battle.

He keeps an eye on the assassin in the meanwhile. It doesn't take him long before he realizes that the main controls have been damaged. While he could fix them, that's not really a viable option with Ventress here – she could try killing him – and also, the pod is rapidly drifting towards a moon. Oh great. They're going to crash, and there's nothing he can do about it, except hope that the Force protects him.

"What?" demands Ventress sharply, standing up and planting her hands on her hips. "I thought you were just talking about us getting killed!"

"Yes, and no thanks to you!" Anakin snaps back, dropping into the pilot's seat as he attempts to regain control. "Sit down and help me. You do know how to fly, right?"

She only gives him a nasty look, sitting down in the seat next to him and putting her hands on the controls. "All we can do is slow it down," she states flatly.

"It's going to be rough," warns Anakin, struggling to get the pod under control as the moon's gravitational field pulls it down. It hurdles downwards, streaking towards the surface at an alarming speed.

"I know," Ventress growls. They manage to slow down the pod to an extent, but not enough to prevent it from crashing. It'll only be enough to prevent them from being smashed, and hopefully the pod isn't ruptured, because Anakin doubts that this moon has a breathable atmosphere.

They crash with incredible force, and Anakin is slammed into the control panel, hitting his head hard enough to temporarily stun him. But they're still alive, and that's all that matters.

Final Notes: If you want to join our Discord to receive updates or just hang out, here's the invite link, and please delete the spaces! :) discord . gg / nqSxuz2

We also have a tumblr account (and delete the spaces): fanfictasia . tumblr . com

And! We have a YT channel for tributes! Please delete the spaces in the link. :D youtube channel / UC_g1M5rSCxJUzQCRS29B6pA

Finally, if you're interested, you can submit a SW gift fic request via the following form (delete the spaces): forms . gle / rmXWtRomMMaULuPa6