Prologue-Space
Of the many issues that plagued beings in deep space, none was more persistent than the perpetual coldness that surrounded travelers and starpilots. It was a weightless cold, created by the absence of heat and light. It overtook one nearly instantly, and there was little that could be done that could alleviate the discomfort. Warships and transports ships of all shapes and sizes always came equipped with the most state of the art heating technologies, but even that did little to quell the crushing nothingness and coldness that the infinite sea of outer space seemed to be comprised of. Even the most veteran of starpilots still periodically felt a shiver run down their spine as they felt the frigid touch of space. The chill served as a constant reminder: no matter how well protected they thought they were in their starships, the only thing separating them from emptiness and oblivion was a few dozen feet of metal.
This cold was ever present on the Venator-class Star Destroyer, the Resolute. This ship served as the flagship for the 501st Clone Division, commanded by the 'Hero Without Fear', Jedi General Anakin Skywalker. Skywalker and his troops were just coming off of a decisive battle on the Outer Rim planet of Rhen Var. While they had emerged victorious, the victory came at a high cost. Many Clone Troopers lost their lives, and their fleet of fighters had been decimated.
Following their bittersweet victory, the 501st was called from the front lines to run a mercy mission delivering supplies to Republic refugees on the planet Dantooine. It would provide Anakin and his troops plenty of time to rest and recover, but Anakin couldn't shake the feeling that his sudden reassignment had some sort of hidden meaning.
In the hours since Rhen Var, Skywalker had been in a constant state of motion. Wounded troops needed to be tended to, weapons needed to be inspected, and maintenance on nearly every piece of onboard technology needed to take place. Despite having just come off the front lines, there was no time for rest. There was much work to be done.
Anakin's Padawan learner, the young Togruta, Ahsoka Tano, walked beside him as he was debriefed by his loyal Clone Captain, Rex. She was trying her best to keep up with Anakin, but they had been going on hour twenty of work with little to no break. Trying her hardest to appear strong and in control, the young Jedi buried her fatigue and pressed onward, listening to Anakin's conversation with the Captain.
"Sir, I've just received a report from our engineers. They ran some diagnostics on our remaining Y-Wings like you asked. They have confirmed that the rear boosters cannot output anymore power than what they're currently at..."
Anakin interrupted, unhappy with the answer his Captain was giving him, "I don't think so, Rex. Did they try and bypass some of the power from the front twin blasters? What about the rear facing cannon? We can't afford to have our bomber squadron move with such little speed. Their lack of mobility cost us a lot of soldiers on Rhen Var."
"Sir, I'm sure our engineers considered all possible options," Rex continued respectfully. Being a clone, Rex was one of millions of beings that were bred on the planet Kamino for the purpose of serving the Galactic Republic. The Clones were genetically modified to be the ultimate soldiers: tactical, resourceful, strong, and most importantly, loyal. While Rex, like all his other clone brothers, was born to follow orders, that didn't mean he was afraid to discuss his ideas with his General. Rex trusted Anakin enough to know that he could voice his opinion without being insubordinate. "Besides, sir, can we really afford to reroute the power in our bomber squadron's guns for slightly more mobility?"
"The way I see it, so long as the Y-Wings still carry the proton bombs on board, they're still going to be able to deal heavy damage to enemy cruisers. The front blasters and rear cannon are only good for taking out fighters. We've got our ARC-170s for dogfights. As it stands now, the Y-Wings are just too slow. They're getting destroyed before they can release their payload. We have to do something different." Anakin's eyes narrowed, reflecting on the Y-Wing's performance in the previous battle.
"I understand, sir. I'll contact our engineers and see if there's anything they can do," Rex saluted and began to head back toward the hangar.
"Let them know I'll be down to take a look as soon as possible," Anakin called after Rex, uncharacteristically stoic. Anakin was well-liked by his troops, but that certainly didn't mean that his presence didn't intimidate them. We will fix the issues at hand. One way or another.
"What do you think, Snips? Am I making the right call on the Y-Wings? I just can't shake this feeling that we have to sacrifice some power for mobility. It's the only way to make them viable," Anakin looked over at his little friend. Ahsoka had been his Padawan for a little over two months now, and so far things between them were great. Like all relationships, there were ups and downs, but so far Anakin was very happy with Ahsoka's progress.
Ahsoka trudged on beside him, seemingly unaware of Anakin's question. Anakin cocked his head and studied her. She's absolutely exhausted. She can't keep going on like this. "...Ahsoka?" he waved his arm in front of her face. Still nothing. "Hey, Snips. Do ya read me in there...?"
"Hmm?" she finally looked over at Anakin and realized that she had spaced out for a good portion of Rex and Anakin's last conversation, as well as Anakin's question. Her lekku darkened in embarrassment once she got caught, "I'm sorry, Skyguy... I guess I just," she started.
"Need some sleep?" Anakin interrupted, cocking an eyebrow. Even in her exhaustion, Ahsoka felt her anger rise. I don't need you baby me. If you can handle being up and about, then so can I. She could have sent her thoughts to her Master telepathically, but she chose to keep them to herself to avoid an argument. She loved Anakin as a teacher, but lately Anakin had been extra overprotective of her and it was driving her mad.
"I don't need to sleep. I just needed a minute to refocus after all your pilot talk. You went over my head so I zoned out," Ahsoka lied, refusing to admit she was tired. Anakin nodded in response, not buying it in any capacity.
Finally the pair arrived at their destination, the mission briefing room. The room was circular in shape, there was a massive computer display on the far wall. A round hologram table sat in the center of the room, surrounded by a few chairs. There were also a couple desks on either side of the room, with some very fancy spinning chairs in front of them for soldiers to do some weapon maintenance if need be. Anakin needed to download some information from the ship's master computer to his datapad. It provided information for their upcoming assignment. He gestured to one of the chairs as he synced his datapad up, "You can have a seat if you want, Snips. It might take awhile to download the files."
Ahsoka complied and slowly ambled over to the chair. She spun it around and flopped in it heavily, suddenly feeling the weight of her sleeplessness pressing firmly over her. Anakin mused out loud to himself as the files loaded.
"After the week we've had, it might be nice to just go on a supply run for once. It's been a rough couple of days," part of Anakin was very frustrated when the Jedi Council had given him this mission. A deep part of him felt as though the Council was punishing him for the losses he had accrued in his pursuit of victory. I know I made some mistakes, but I can't make up for them on an inconsequential mission like this one. Anakin sighed and rubbed his eyes. it was no use worrying about it now, the assignment had been given, and there was very little arguing that could be done when it came to the Council's decisions.
Anakin looked over his shoulder back at Ahsoka, only to see her curled up in the chair, fast asleep. Despite her overall content expression, he noticed her shivering ever-so-slightly in the coldness of the ship. Anakin took off his cloak that he was wearing and gently draped it over her for a makeshift blanket. In her sleep, Ahsoka curled up more and wrapped the cloak around herself tighter. The shivering stopped and she seemed to be more at peace. Anakin smiled and affectionately patted her on the head as he sent a relaxing wave of energy through their Force bond, hoping that would help keep her slumber peaceful. It's about time that she gets some rest. She's had just as rough of a week as the rest of us. Don't overdo it, kid.
Anakin watched her sleep for a few moments. Seeing her so content helped to calm Anakin's otherwise perpetually active mind. He probably could have stayed there watching over her for hours, but there was still much work to be done. Sighing, he collected his datapad and headed toward the doors. He turned around and stole one last look at his slumbering little friend, enjoying one final moment of peace. He then turned on his heels and marched off back into the chaos. Now, let's go take a look at those bombers.