AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Oh, will you look at that. I remembered to actually update my posting on the same day I posted on AO3 ^^"
Ayo, back at it again with another chapter! This is where the fun begins : )
This is one of the longer chapters in this story and I've been editing this one for a while. I really hope I was able to hit all the story beats correctly. I sure had fun seeing my cousin Nick's reaction to all this (as my editor) xD
Also be warned, long chapter means long ending notes...
Anyways, enjoy another chapter!
ＰＲＯＬＯＧＵＥ
"Kix, whaddya doing? We're getting deployed, everyone's getting ready."
The medic didn't need to look up from his datapad to know it was his colleague, Coric. He continued looking through the reports. "Hang on a second."
His fellow trooper sounded annoyed. "We only have about a second left." When Kix continued scrolling on his datapad, Coric became intrigued. "What are you looking at?" He walked over to where Kix was sitting, peeking over his shoulder.
"Something about this really bugs me."
"What does?"
Kix held up the datapad so Coric could take a look. "The Ringo Vandis Parasite."
Coric was confused. "What about it?"
"Look at this." He pointed to a part of the report and Coric came closer to get a better look. "The report says that itsa close cousin to the Dressel Parasite based on the similar circulatory system and structure." Kix handed the datapad over to his friend. "Ringo attacks the brain, the frontal. That's what the longnecks said caused Tup's chip to go haywire. Dressel attacks the brain, yes, but it targets the occipital lobe." He pointed to his eyes.
Coric furrowed his eyebrows as he squinted at the datapad. "The reports did say this was a new strain," Coric stated, recalling what he had read on the reports himself as he took the datapad. All medical staff had to be briefed on it since the whole incident. "Maybe it could have mutated to infect the frontal lobe too? Though…" Coric looked at the picture of the parasite again. "Now that you mention it… it is… odd for this particular type of nucleus and ribosome." He gave his companion a wide-eyed look.
Kix nodded at him earnestly, glad his friend caught on. "'Course, I could just be overthinking. New strains pop out everyday with crazy new forms." He huffed, crossing his arms. "But something….something isn't sitting right with me."
"Hm." Coric could only respond.
Before Kix could muse on, the alarm and lights went off, indicating that it was almost time to deploy. Following their protocol, two quickly grabbed their medic packs and things so they could rush to the deck. As Kix was leaving, he looked back at the datapad sighing.
He'd just have to look into it later.
【ＡＣＴ Ｉ： ＴΞＲＲＯＲ】
ＣＨＡＰＴＥＲ ４
Getting her head into the game was a little harder than Ahsoka initially thought.
Normally, Ahsoka would flip this mental switch in her head that would put her into a 'Commander mode' of some kind. She was always alert and ready to fight, but putting herself into a 'Jedi Commander' mindset really helped her focus on the battlefield, where the slightest mistake could have drastic consequences. It was something that Ahsoka honed ever since her space battle in Ryloth, something she still never quite forgave herself for.
But now, everything just seems so muddled. It wasn't just her emotional and mental state, though that was a big part of it. Ahsoka was used to ruminating over concepts in morality and ethics in her head, meditating on things like that just came with being a Jedi, but being part of a strange conspiracy like this was much different than just thinking about what was the right thing to do. Ahsoka honestly couldn't tell if she was on the right or wrong side, or maybe somewhere in between. She wasn't sure she could even place herself on that scale at all.
It didn't help that the Force seemed to drift farther and farther away with each passing second. It wasn't as if Ahsoka wasn't able to call upon its power, but the comforting buzz of the Force that had always been in the back of her just wasn't there anymore. It was a little eerie, though she was at least comforted by the idea that it wasn't just a her-thing. Obi-Wan felt it and Ahsoka had an inkling her master did too. As bad as it was, she was relieved. Ahsoka wouldn't know how to handle it if she was losing her grip on the Force because of this whole incident with Tup, Fives, and the dreams.
Also, Ahsoka couldn't shake the feeling that she was being stalked.
She's been stalked by mysterious beings before, a particularly warm feathered friend came to mind, but she had been a welcome presence (speaking of which, she hadn't seen her for a while now…). This stalker was that dark shadow she had seen in the surgery room, the one with the white hands and piercing yellow eyes. This thing seemed to only exist in her peripherals, not ever getting close like it did before. While unsettled, Ahsoka honestly much preferred it to the treason-execution-dying ones. At least for this shadow, the only thing she felt was the unease and dread, which was much easier to ignore than blatantly having whole dramatic scenes play out before her eyes.
Ahsoka had a day of travel to get her bearings before it was time. She never really managed to get into her 'commander' mentality, but she got close enough.
Eventually, their ship popped out of hyperspace and it was go time.
"Let's see who finishes their raid first," Anakin said to her as they were about to part ways at their gunships. He had his signature Skywalker smile, the one Ahsoka always rolled her eyes at. She tried to ignore the shadow peering over Anakin's shoulder.
"It will not be so easy if the Separatist Commander shows up," she replied, one brow raised. Intel had told them that there might be an actual live commander than a normal tactical droid this time.
"Eh. It'll be to your advantage anyway." He smirked. "They're obviously going to show up in the outpost the famed General Skywalker is going to attack."
Rolling her eyes, Ahsoka scoffed. "With your track record, I would not be surprised."
Anakin smiled one more time, before turning a little more serious. "Good luck, Snips." He paused. "Don't hesitate to radio in if you feel like you need backup."
Normally, Ahsoka would snippily reply that she was fine and that her overprotective master just needed to cool it, but she knew why he was worried. Heck, even Ahsoka knew why she was worried. So instead, Ahsoka just smiled back. "Yes, master. And you too."
And with that the two departed into their gunships and headed to their respective landing zones. Each of their teams had about a squadron of clones. Rex was with her on this one, along with Sergeant Kano, remnants of the Tango Company and then some, a pair of snipers, and Kix as their medic. It was a decently large team, a formidable strike force for taking out those pesky Separatist bases.
"Have fun down there," Hawk, their Lieutenant Clone Pilot, told them as they got off the ship. "Kill a clanka for me."
And with that, the mission was on.
Now that she was actually on the ground and doing stuff, Ahsoka had a much easier time focusing. It was good being in on the action again, she hadn't been on it since she had been sent back after Master Tiplar's death. As un-Jedi-like it was, Ahsoka really did enjoy the thrill of combat. It pushed her physical being and senses to the limit, which made it hard for her mind to think about anything else. And that was just a welcome reprieve, considering that all she'd done for the past few days was agonise about a convoluted conspiracy that may or may not even exist.
"The road ahead is clear, Commander," the clone sergeant reported, flanked by two other troopers. "There were coupla clankers, but we took care of'em."
"Good work, Kano." Ahsoka smiled. "You always know how to make things easier." She turned to Rex. "Get the boys moving, Rex. The way won't be clear forever."
The captain nodded and turned to the soldiers waiting behind her. "Alright, you heard her, let's move!" He gestured forward.
Ahsoka led her strike force through the abandoned remains of the Christophsis buildings. It was hard to think that there would've been a time where people actually lived, worked, and played here, though Ahsoka couldn't really afford to lament that right now. They had a mission to do.
She went out of her way to climb and jump around the shambles and debris while her troops marched below her. Taking the high road wasn't really necessary, but Ahsoka always felt better having a better view of her surroundings. Obi-wan had always told her the importance of having the high ground after all.
They were making good ground and it wasn't long until Ahsoka spotted their Separatist Outpost in the distance, nestled between two abandoned skyrises. It was a pretty defensive spot with clear roads. It was a good stopping point for droid armies, no wonder the Republic wanted to get rid of it.
Seeing that his Commander had stopped, Rex signalled for the group to stop and wait for her command. Ahsoka took a higher perch and squinted at the base, using her enhanced predatory vision to get a closer look at what was ahead, a perk of being a Togruta. Her poor master had to carry around those clunky binoculars.
"Looks like we have a party waiting for us." Ahsoka turned to look down at her men, who were all looking up at her expectantly.
"On your word, Commander." Rex nodded.
Ahsoka picked out her snipers from the squadron, making eye contact as she gestured to one of the broken buildings nearby. "Tin-Tin, Flush, get up there. Get ready to take out those turrets and the perches on my signal." She turned to two more clones. "Gunner, Sarge, you two keep them safe."
"They'll be as safe as the Chancellor himself," Gunner jokes. "We'll make Fox jealous. " Sarge punches him, Flush is deadpan, and Tin-Tin tilts his head in an obvious eyeroll. Ahsoka knew her boys were just joking, but she didn't really like being reminded of that man right now.
Still, ribbing kept morale high so Ahsoka just gave them a small smile, shaking her head before she jerked her thumb up again at the building. And with that they dispersed to get into position.
"Everyone else, you're with me and Rex," Ahsoka continued and the troopers nodded. "Rex, take point."
"Yessir."
The young Jedi Commander allowed Rex to lead the way while she continued her haphazard path through the rubble, her agility allowing her to traverse through it all with ease. Also, it was just kinda fun. She slid down a piece of broken concrete slab and was about to dart up the side of a building when she felt a familiar headache coming on.
That shadow was getting closer now.
There was dista̵n̸t l̶a̵u̸ghter̴.̵
She shook her head vigorously. Really? She was going to have a dream-vision here? Right now ? This is hardly the time. Ahsoka couldn't tell if this whole thing was just her trauma or Force visions, but she really couldn't afford to lose focus now. Whatever her mind or the Force was trying to tell her can wait.
After a few more minutes of marching, they finally made it close enough to the outpost to start the attack, but far enough that they could take cover without being spotted.
"Snipers?" Ahsoka asked, looking at Rex.
The captain brought up his commlink. "Tin-Tin, report."
"In position, we've got eyes on you," he replied. "Gunner says you look even better through a scope, sir."
Ahsoka couldn't help but stifle a giggle as she watched Rex contemplate whether or not to reply to that, though the troops behind them straight up chuckled. She wished she could have seen his face. He decided not to and instead turned to his commanding officer. "Commander?" Rex was waiting for her signal.
"Let's get this party started." She smirked, glancing back on the squadron who gave her eager nods.
"We're firing in…" Tin-Tin began the countdown. " 3… 2… 1! "
The shots rang out and with it, the distinctive sound of them hitting their mark. Now that those pesky turrets are out, Ahsoka leapt into action, pulling out her two green lightsabers and landing into a group of droids who had come out to investigate the sound. She diced them without too much effort, a few of them letting out pitiful screams of 'Jedi!' before being sliced apart.
"Let's spank'em, boys!" Rex called out and her men were quick to follow.
And with that the silent air became a hot zone of gunfire and laser sword sounds.
The snipers were doing a good job of giving them cover from afar while Ahsoka provided the same for her troops in the front. But despite this, there were still a considerable amount of droids on the perches, emerging from inside the building. They were firing down at them with increasing intensity. Her team was doing a good job, no casualties yet, but if this went on, it wouldn't be long until they happened.
"Hey, Rex!" she called out.
"Huh?"
Mischievously not bothering to explain herself, Ahsoka grabbed her friend using the Force and launched him up the wall. Her captain cried out in shock as he was thrown, but was able to reorient himself in the air before he hit the top of the wall, expertly taking out several incoming droids as he landed.
"A warning would have been nice!" he shouted over the edge, sounding annoyed.
"Where's the fun in that?" she replied back, a smirk on her lips. "I knew you would land on your feet." Some of the clones even stopped to laugh. Ahsoka then turned to some of her other men. "Kano, Burst, time to give Rex some company."
Those two were a lot more prepared than Rex had been due to the warning, landing with ease after Ahsoka launched them. She could sense Rex's mild irritation from down below and knew he was definitely going to harp about it later, but wasn't mad. Not really. They've done this sort of thing loads of times, Rex was probably used to it by now, maybe even more than prepared knowing that her master tended to do the same thing.
As Rex and his tiny squad cleared the perches, making their way into the outpost on the high ground, Ahsoka stayed with the larger group to provide cover as they pushed their way towards the entrance of the outpost building. As Rex, Kano, and Burst disappeared into the building, Ahsoka wished them luck.
They continued to press their attack, the snipers making sure to cover their flank as more droids piled out of the other entrances. Eventually they managed to take cover near some rubble by the front door, the final thing keeping them out of the outpost.
"Ox, get that gate open," Ahsoka ordered and the trooper nodded, running over and taking some charges out of the pack he was carrying, placing them on the door.
Leaving her trooper to do that, Ahsoka ran out to the oncoming droids and gave them a rough shove back, to give them more breathing room to work. Her men were quick to follow up and take out the ones she missed.
"Charge set!" Ox called out, backing up behind some cover. He glanced at Ahsoka who gave him the nod of approval. "Take cover!" he warned the other troopers before pressing the button on his gauntlet.
There was a large explosion, one that rocked the whole building. Once the blast settled, Ahsoka made her way to the front lines to take point once, but as she stared down what would be the entrance hallway, she found it exceedingly dark. In the distance of the depths, she saw what looked like two white hands getting closer.
Everyth̶i̵ng tha̶t̴ ̷h̶a̵s̷ ̸t̵r̸a̴n̸spired, has do̵͓͘ne so according to m̶̯ỵ̶ design.
She froze.
"Commander !" one of her men cried out.
Snapping out of her daze, Ahsoka brought her blade, just in time to block a series of shots coming from the inside. She blinked and the darkness was gone, just rows of droids marching through a rather lit hallway. There was no time to think about what she just experienced, not in the middle of battle, anyway.
It took some time, but Ahsoka and her team were able to clear out most of the droids by the time they made it through to the center of the facility, commandeering the main staging room. Not many more droids were popping out so it looked like they had depleted most of the main forces.
"How does it look out there?" Ahoska asked snipers over the comm.
Tin-Tin responded. " Clear as a whistle, Commander. Not a tinnie in sight. "
That was a relief, though it may not stay that way for long. "Let me know the minute reinforcement shows up, if it does." She then turned to the other troopers. "Get those charges set, boys, we're going to blow the place as soon as Kano gets the data."
With Ox as their pack mule (funny), some of her men began running through the building to place the bombs. She noticed Kix stuck by her side, looking maybe a little too bored. No one has gotten injured yet and there were no casualties, so there was not much for the medic to do. A good thing.
After a while, Ahsoka realised that Rex failed to check in with her. Neither did Kano, who was supposed to be the one downloading the data. Starting to get a little concerned, Ahsoka pressed a button on her commlink once more.
"Rex, what's your status?" No response. "Rex?"
When this didn't work, she tried contacting Kano. "Kano, do you read me?" She tried the other trooper. "Burst?"
When none of them replied, Ahsoka and Kix exchanged a look. Taking a deep breath, Ahsoka closed her eyes and tried to reach them using the Force. Sure, it all was a bit muddy, but she just needed to know if they were alive. After a moment of concentration, Ahsoka could say for sure that they were alive, but…
There was something else.
A slumped figure on the floor, breathing hard. Dying.
Anakin!
Ahsoka jumped at the thought, realising that she had basically pinged Anakin through the Force. A second later, she felt a comforting, but alarmed vibration through their bond and she winced, realising what she'd done.
"Ahsoka?" Her commlink blinked to life a moment later. "What's wrong? "
"Nothing I can't handle," Ahsoka replied, noting the whizz of blaster fire over his side. It sounded like Anakin was in a fight. "I just… misplaced Rex," she decided to admit.
Anakin made a sound similar to a laugh. "You better go find him then, Snips. I would rather not lose our beloved captain, please."
"Uh-huh," Ahsoka agreed with that. She closed the link before she could get any more embarrassed.
"Keep setting up those charges. I'm going to look for Rex, Kano, and Burst," she told some of the running troopers closeby. "Kix, you're with me." Better take the medic along… just in case. Ahsoka hoped that Kix could remain bored for this whole mission.
With him as her only backup, Ahsoka ventured deeper into the facility in search of the missing clones. The Force was way too dark to be able to pinpoint where exactly Rex was, but she was able to take solace that he hadn't died yet. Though she couldn't tell with Kano or Burst. Since Rex or the others didn't reply on their comms, there was no signal to trace. So for a while, she and Kix kinda just ran around, hoping to get a lucky break. And they did. Though, she'd be hard pressed to call it lucky.
"Burst!" Ahsoka called out, spotting the trooper on the ground. It looked like he had dragged his way and was leaning against the wall. Kix was already by his side before she had a chance to crouch down. There was a blaster wound on the upper left part of his chest, near his shoulder.
"C-Commander…" he replied, turning to look at her as Kix began treating him. "T-There was a live one… a Phindian!" He wheezed. "Took Rex a-and K-Kano alive." Burst made a vague gesture. "There!"
Ahsoka cursed. Just her luck that the Separatist Commander would be in her raid. She was going to rub it in Anakin's face later, for sure.
"Easy there, soldier," Kix told him, putting one hand firmly on his body to get him to stop squirming. The medic began reaching over to take off Burst's helmet, a booster in his other hand. It was easier to stab it when you had clear access to the neck after all.
She was about to offer Burst her own words of encouragement, to let the clone know that she's got this. But Ahsoka was instead bewildered to see a haunting familiar face, one that made her heart squeeze with both nostalgia and pain.
'Ahsoka…' Fives looked at her with pained eyes. He reached one wobbly hand towards her. 'I-I thought you promised-...you promised you'd save them !'
She just stared.
'The Chancellor…' her deceased friend hissed, coughing as the light expired from his eyes. 'He's going to kill us…all... "
"Commander, I can take it from here." Ahsoka dumbly looked up to see that Kix was talking to her. She looked back down again to see that Burst had passed out. "You should go find Rex and Kano."
"Right." Ahsoka swallowed, shaking a little. "I promise I'll bring them back," she said, though those words weren't only for Kix or Burst.
Ahsoka headed in the direction of the room that Burst had pointed her door was wide open and the inside was dark, actually dark, not from the mind-shadows. Sensing something was afoot, Ahsoka took careful, measured steps inside. Besides the blinking monitors and the buttons, it was a little hard to see.
She took out one of her lightsabers to light up the area a little more.
That's when she noticed that the shadow was there, standing directly opposite from her. This time she could see it grin.
Suddenly, a droid dropped down from the ceiling, right in front of her, trying to hit her with its gun with a blade attached. Ahsoka instinctively pushed it back and was surprised to see it bend in half. Magnetised Assassin Droids. Great.
She deflected the shots that were fired at her, the robot athletically jumping around, avoiding her lightsabers and her reflected shots. Thinking outside the box, Ahsoka actually pulled the droid towards her and lobbed off one of its arms. This new handicap didn't deter it though and it tackled her, its one hand trying to grasp at her neck in an attempt to strangle her. Ahsoka dropped her lightsaber and she tussled with it for a moment before she managed to unclip her shoto from the belt and stabbed it through the droid's chest.
She sighed in relief, kicking the robot and hopping on her feet.
"Commander…!" a weak voice called out. Ahsoka immediately rushed to the side of a clone that was getting off the wall. It was Kano. Beside him was another assassin droid, broken.
"Kano! What happened?" she asked, helping the soldier to his feet.
"Seppie showed up when we were downloading the data," he reported, coughing slightly. "We got ambushed and captured. We tried to get away but Rex, he helped me get away… the captain is still with him!" He pointed down another opening, which opened into a hallway.
"... Why?" Ahsoka scrunched her face in confusion. As glad as she was to hear that Rex was still alive, it was a little worrying. Separatists don't usually take prisoners, unless they're extremely high ranking, a Jedi, or have important information. Other than being a captain, Rex didn't really have anything noteworthy to give them. Neither did Kano for that matter.
"I don't know, sir," Kano responded, still sounding a bit weak. He didn't look injured, but Ahsoka could smell the blood on him.
"Kix's outside, go," she ordered him. "I'll get Rex."
"I-I can still fight!" he protested, he picked up his blaster from the floor.
"If you want to help, then get that intel," Ahsoka responded. Clones were always stubborn when it came to things like this. Though they might just have adopted this habit from Anakin and her. "And don't die."
"Wouldn't dream of it, sir."
Leaving Kano to do his thing, Ahsoka hurried over through the door to find Rex. As she made her way down this one-track hallway, Ahsoka felt that headache coming on again.
That same one.
It was terrible, she felt weak and gagged. She wanted to reconnect to the Force for some sort of relief but it just wasn't there.
As the pain intensified, she finally spotted what looked like a Phidian leading Rex down the hallway. Her eyes struggled to focus as the shadow appeared farther down the hall.
It seemed that the Separatist sleemo heard her approaching and he immediately shoved the blaster into the back of Rex's helmet.
"Don't move, Jedi, " the Phindian threatened, "or the clone gets it!" Oh, so that's why he took Rex. He wanted a hostage.
"Don't listen to him, Commander." Rex wheezed. He sounded a little funny.
Ahsoka stilled herself, but she wasn't going to comply. She was about to try to use the Force to pull the blaster out of his hand, but the Phindian seemed to sense she was up to something and suddenly shot Rex in the back of his leg without warning.
"Rex!" she called out, surprised as her close friend cried out in pain, crumbling to the ground. This Separatist wasn't playing around.
"On the ground. Now ." The Phindian pointed at the lightsabers on her belt. Ahsoka was stunned, but when he pointed the gun at Rex's other leg, Ahsoka quickly unclipped her lightsabers and dropped it to the floor and raised her palms to show she didn't have anything else.
"Hmph. Typical Jedi. Predictable as always," scoffed the Phindian. "Now be smart and…"
His words seemed so distant.
T̵͖͐h̵̜͑ẻ̷̖r̸̲̅ě̷̠,̶͍͊ ̵̝͗t̴͎̿h̴̛͈ȩ̶͋r̵̯͘e̴̞͑ ̶̼̏c̷̘̀h̷̼͊i̶̡̚l̴͕͗d̵̙͑.̷͎̉
Ahsoka was surprised to see Anakin crumpled on the ground where Rex was. Everything around her had warped again into that eternal, feverish darkness. No longer was the Phindian there, but that shadow. This time, Ahsoka could see it was actually a person. An old man, pale and wrinkled.
He stood over her precious master with a dastardly toothy grin.
"Anakin…" she whispered under her breath, her eyes no longer seeing what was really in front of her.
The withered old man raised his clawed white hand, yellow eyes glinting, his gorgy rasp of a laugh echoing all around her.
Ń̵̘ō̸͔w̸̫̎,̸͚̂ ̶̭m̶̲͊y̸̤̋ ̴̪͂d̸͙̾e̷͎͆ā̴ͅȑ̵͈,̵̦̐ ̴̣̋S̷͔̄k̷̫̇y̶͉͂w̴̽͜a̴̻l̸̖̃k̵̢̆e̴̹̍r̵̭̿.̶̗͌
He raised his hands over her master's form.
No.
T̶h̵e̸n̵ ̶y̸o̵u̷ ̷w̴i̸l̸l̵ ̶d̴ i̴ e̴.̴
A spray of lightning.
"No!"
In a mix of fury and terror, Ahsoka struck out her hand in a clawed grasp. Somewhere in front of her, she heard someone rasped out in pain. Enough. She's had enough. All the fear and pain she'd been suppressing inside began bubbling to the surface, fueling the raw surge of power in her outstretched hand.
I won't let him die. I won't let anyone die.
Enough.
Ahsoka stood up slowly, angrily wrenching up her hold into the air as she continued to painstakingly fold her fingers closer and closer together in a violent crush.
".. plea -" a voice gasped. Her hold shook from a struggle.. But Ahsoka just squeezed harder, her rage boiling.
No.
Ahsoka continued closing her brutal grip until she felt the weight grow slack. Confused and startled by this, she blinked to clear her mind, finally taking in the scene before her. The Phindian was hanging limply in the air, his mouth open and head lolling to the side, eyes completely blank.
Dead.
Horrified, Ahsoka released her grasp and the body fell to the ground with a loud thud, motionless.
She could feel Rex staring at her in shock as he sat on the ground, next to the body, clutching his injured leg. The fact that he didn't say anything made it so much worse. There was a new kind of terror this time as reality began to set in.
"What have I done?" She breathed.
Ahsoka knows exactly what she's done.
"Good job, boys," Anakin said, turning to the troops as he sliced up the last droid. "That's the last of them."
"Didn't even break a sweat," his clone sergeant agreed. "No casualties on our side either. The Seppies are getting soft."
"Hey , don't jinx it, Boomer," the Jedi General joked. "The sooner we mop things up, the sooner we get back to the Resolute for an afternoon snack. Who's up for some bantha-flavoured government rations?"
"You can't catch me dead with those things, sir," Boomer replied quite seriously. If Anakin remembered correctly, his sergeant was more of a strawberry-man. Strange choice, but who was he to judge? Afterall, his own trusted Clone Captain Rex liked Spicy Batuubucha , a travesty of a flavour - in his own humble opinion anyway.
"Hey, they're not that bad!" Jesse protested from the back, sounding genuinely offended.
A good, natured argument broke out between his men and Anakin allowed them their fun. It was a job well done and he sensed there was no danger for the moment. This outpost was cleared out, all that's left to do is to swipe whatever intel they had here, blow the place, and head out. Anakin hoped that Ahsoka's group was doing just as well.
Anakin frowned slightly as his Padawan came into mind.
Ahsoka hasn't been quite herself lately, not since Master Tiplar died. Or more accurately, ever since Tup's freakout. She had always had a close relationship with the clones and Anakin knew how shocking it must've been for her to see all that transpire. Anakin was still in shock himself.
Never would he have thought his trusted clones, Tup and Fives, were even capable of such treasonous actions. Though, they still weren't capable. It hadn't been their fault. It was that parasite. Because of that tiny bug, he lost two of his best men and nearly lost his good friend, the Chancellor too. Anakin sighed, wishing he had noticed sooner, though it was a relief that only those two were the only ones affected. He wouldn't know what to do if someone like Rex had contracted the parasite.
Suddenly, Anakin was hit with a sharp sting. It wasn't anything powerful enough to knock him down or daze him, but more like a sudden pulse of pain and emotion, originating from somewhere in the Force.
He had noticed that the Force had been feeling quite dark lately. Anakin wasn't really sure why, but the best way he could describe it was as if a large shadow suddenly overcasted everything, making everything hard to sense and see. Since then, he's had weird dreams- nightmares even, though they were too blurry to make anything out. Anakin was sure that it had to do with his wife, Padme, who was well into her pregnancy now, though maybe it was just his frazzled nerves. Between the Jedi Council finding out and you know, being a father, it wasn't hard to find reasons to be nervous.
But this feeling wasn't like those dreams or even the Force being weird. After concentrating for a moment, Anakin realised it originated elsewhere.
It was Ahsoka .
She had called out to him like this earlier, but this time it felt way more serious. More urgent, primal, uncontrolled .
Realising that something must've happened to his apprentice, Anakin brought up his commlink to contact her, but was surprised to see it blink before his eyes. He answered it, expecting it to be his Padawan, but it was Rex.
"General Skywalker," his captain greeted him, though there was a strange strain in his voice.
"Rex, what happened?" Anakin asked.
"Outpost has been captured, sir, " Rex reported. Not exactly what Anakin wanted to hear, but it was good news for their mission. "Charges have been set and Kano's currently downloading the plans. Some injuries, but no dead."
"Nice work, Rex." He paused. "Where's Ahsoka?"
Rex suddenly went quiet, but he spoke again after a moment. "General , there was a live one here, sir. A Phindian. " Oh, so the Seppie was in Ahsoka's base after all. Also, ' was' so not alive anymore.
"And..?" Anakin pressed, growing confused by his captain's strange reluctance to relay the information. Dead seppies weren't anything new, it happened all the time. They were a little less useful dead than they were alive, but eh, war. It happens.
"Well, uh. Commander Tano …" His voice trailed off.
He immediately frowned. So that tremor he felt from the Force was from his Padawan. He knew that, but now he got confirmation, which was worrying all the same. "What's wrong with Ahsoka? Is she injured?"
"No, sir. But, uhm… " Rex's voice grew very serious. " ... maybe it would be best to tell you in confidence. "
Anakin furrowed his brows, not quite understanding why Rex was acting this way. Something was up with Ahsoka, serious enough that it couldn't be said over the commlink and in private. Anakin wanted to keep pressing Rex for information, but he trusted his captain's judgement.
"I'll hold you to that, Rex," Anakin told him equally as seriously. "Finish things up and head back to the Resolute."
"Yessir."
After this point, Anakin hurried things along, eager to head back to the ship and meet up with Ahsoka to find out what was wrong. It was easy enough, all the bots here were dead, there was no resistance. His team downloaded the copy of the files before blowing the whole place in typical Skywalker fashion.
The whole way to the extraction point, Anakin could feel the bond with his apprentice shivering with chaotic emotions, getting stronger and stronger as they closed the distance between them. It was odd to be able to feel this much from Ahsoka. Over the years, Ahsoka had been very good at keeping her emotions in check. Of course, it hadn't always been that way. When she was younger, she had been a lot more open about letting Anakin feel what she was feeling, mostly out of petty indignation probably. But as she got older, Ahsoka started reigning it all in. The only thing he felt from her these days was when she was when she wanted him to know how she was feeling.
What he felt from her now superseded any other level of intensity he's felt from her. Terror.
This is worrying. Very worrying.
As soon as his gunship arrived back on the Resolute, Anakin made a beeline for the medbay, where he knew Ahsoka had been taken to. Tracing their connection, Anakin was surprised to see Rex on a med bed, being treated by Kix. It looked like he had been shot in the back of his thigh.
"General," Rex breathed, though it sounded more like a cry of relief than a greeting.
"What happened?" Anakin demanded, feeling his own nerves begin to spice up, glancing at Rex's wound. "Where's Ahsoka?"
"She's inside." Kix gestured to one of the private medical rooms. Anakin's heart dropped. Those were usually reserved for the more critically wounded. "Don't worry, General, she's not wounded." Kix sighed. "At least, not on the outside."
Concerned by those words and the current state of his most skilled clone captain, Anakin was about to bust through the doors to check on Ahsoka, but Rex called out to him.
"General ! If I may have a word…" He glared at his captain, which almost made the other flinch, but Rex stood his ground. "This is important, sir."
"Fine." Anakin bit back a scowl, frustrated at being kept away from his obviously distressed apprentice. "What is it?" It was taking Anakin everything he had not to snap.
"The Commander… she killed the Phindian," Rex explained.
"That's not anything new." Anakin crossed his arms. Ahsoka has killed before. Like him and unlike the other Jedi, she saw it as a necessary evil. Even if she didn't like killing, it really wasn't anything new and Ahsoka never hesitated if it needed to be done.
Rex exchanged glances with the medic. "She used the Force, sir. Ahsoka… choked him to death."
At this, Anakin's eyes widened.
Anakin was no stranger to using such techniques of the Force. The Jedi shunned its usage, but he never really understood why. It had its uses and a great way to extract information in a pinch. Sure it was a little dark, but... anyway Ahsoka on the other hand, but didn't particularly like using it much, or at all. Though she had used the technique on occasion, but only very briefly, and only to incapacitate when there was no other option. Ahsoka had never voiced her opinion on it, but always had given him that judging side-eye when he did, always stepping in if she felt he was going too far with it.
Hearing that his ever moralistic and honourable apprentice did this was chilling.
"She did it to save me," Rex added. It sounded like he was trying to defend her actions. "I was ambushed and taken hostage." His captain sounded genuinely ashamed, though he was deeply concerned. Even as a clone, he knew the implications of what she's done, regardless of his own opinion on it.
The shock and terror he felt from her made sense now.
"I'll… talk to her," Anakin said after a moment, eager to talk to his Padawan after finally taking it all in. He paused. "Thanks for telling me. Rest up, Rex."
Rex nodded.
Anakin entered the medical room without another word. He found his young apprentice sitting on the bed there, her eyes staring blankly ahead of her; shell shocked. Ahsoka made no indication that she even noticed his presence, even as he came over to sit by her on the bed.
He could feel her mangled guilt through their bond, now much more intense now that they were closer in proximity. Anakin would be overwhelmed by the intensity of these emotions if he wasn't so familiar with these dark feelings himself.
"... Snips?" he asked gently, hoping that using her affectionate pet name would make her calm down.
Ahsoka just stared, though her breathing hitched when she heard his voice. After what seemed like a long while, she finally blinked.
His apprentice shook her head slowly, gaze still transfixed on the ground before her. Anakin noticed how she positioned her hands on her lap, away from her body, like she was trying to get them as far away from her as possible
"Master, I…" Ahsoka sounded weak. "I have done something horrible ."
"No. You didn't ," Anakin adamantly corrected. She may have used a method her morals personally disagreed with, but Anakin saw nothing wrong with what she did. "You were trying to protect Rex."
Ahsoka shook her head again, her hands twitching. " No, " her voice was barely above a whisper. "I… I didn't do it for that. I didn't kill him to protect-..." She finally turned to look at him and that's when Anakin noticed the absolute terror in her eyes. "I was… scared . Angry."
Anakin could sense that, but… "Why?" These types of hostage scenarios tended to happen from time to time, but Ahsoka had always been cool headed. Maybe even more than him sometimes.
"Anakin …" she said his name as if it was her lifeline. "I-I…" She swallowed, looking ready to cry, but she didn't. "I've been having these dreams. Visions, maybe." The Padawan slowly shook her head again. "I kept dying and dying. " Ahsoka's lips trembled. "Then the shadow came, and then you died. I didn't mean to kill-" she cut herself off.
He pursed his lips. So that's why she's acting so spooked. "Ahsoka, why didn't you tell me?" So she was having these dreams too...
"I-I couldn't," she stammered. "I couldn't tell anybody ." The young Togruta swallowed. "Not since I saw Fives die. Everyone thought-…"
"What do you mean?" Anakin was confused. How could Ahsoka have seen Fives die? Unless… "You were the Jedi…"
Ahsoka made no response to it, but a ripple in their bond confirmed his suspicions.
He just couldn't believe it. Ahsoka was the Jedi who tried to kill the Chancellor of the Republic and helped Fives escape? But why ? Murdering the Chancellor hardly seemed anything Ahsoka would do at all. His Padawan was reckless and impulsive, sure, but she would never do anything like that. After all, she was angsting about Force choking an irredeemable Separatist for goodness sake. No. No , there was something more to this. There had to be.
"I was just trying to help him!" Ahsoka trembled, glancing at him briefly. "He needed help , I-I didn't mean to-" She brought a hand up to her face, her eyes darting around. "Fives told me." Her voice sounded strangled, like it was fighting out of her throat.
"What did he tell you?" Anakin was having a hard time keeping up with all this. He was relieved that Ahsoka hadn't been involved in the assassination attempt at least. But what in the world was this now?
"There's a conspiracy. A conspiracy against us. " She seemed to curl in on herself. "The whole thing…" Ahsoka took a deep shaky breath. "...the Chancello r is involved…and I didn't know what to do."
The Chancellor? Anakin took his own shaky breath. Before they had left, he went to visit his old friend and Palpatine had told him about the potential assassination plot against him. He wasn't quite himself, Palpatine had believed a Jedi had been a part of it. But now knowing this, he didn't think his Padawan would be a part of it. Ahsoka was innocent, he could tell.
"Please don't tell anyone…" she whispered, reaching over to clutch his non-robotic hand. Ahsoka leaned onto him slightly, gripping his hand like it was her last hope. "You can't."
Ahsoka rarely did this kind of thing. Ever . Even when she was young and scared, Ahsoka knew about the whole attachment thing. Ahsoka did care for him, but other than some slapstick between them, they didn't really make intimate contact like this. Well, there was that one time she... died and he hugged her, but it was one-sided. Ahsoka rarely initiated this kind of contact from her end. It was a product of the Jedi teachings instilled in her since she was very young. But now, it seemed like all that was out the window.
"Anakin, you can't tell anyone ." Ahsoka was begging him. "Please."
"I won't," Anakin said firmly. "I promise." To reaffirm his statement, he expressed his feelings over their bond.
She seemed to relax slightly. "I'm… I'm sorry."
"You did what you had to do, Snips," Anakin reassured her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "And you saved Rex. Sometimes, it can't be helped. You're not a bad person for doing what you did." Ahsoka didn't look convinced, but she nodded ever so slightly. "Attagirl."
Ahsoka's shoulder sagged slightly and Anakin hoped it was because she was relieved.
The two just sat in silence for a while. It was obvious that Ahsoka didn't want to talk anymore, but she was clinging onto their bond for support, so it seemed that she still wanted him around. Anakin was content to sit here until she felt better.
Many of the other Jedi in his shoes would have told the Jedi Council about this immediately. Not only about the Ahsoka Force choking thing, but about the entire conspiracy she just spouted. But Anakin was miffed at the idea. Actually, he was miffed against telling the Republic about this too.
Everyone and their great grandmaster was looking for this supposed Jedi traitor that tried to use a sick clone to kill the Chancellor. Honestly, it had been something he wanted to look into too, but the Council had blown him off for this mission instead; something he was actually now thankful for. On the other hand, Tarkin, while not a bad man, was using everything he had to try to find this traitor. He was sure that if he caught wind of Ahsoka being involved, she would be thrown on the stand without a chance to explain herself. There was no way Anakin was going to let that happen.
And he didn't even get into what Ahsoka said about the Chancellor, which was extremely troubling. Ahsoka mentioned a conspiracy, but it was obvious she was referring to the assasination attempt on the Chancellor, but from the way he looks at it, the Jedi hadn't been a part of it all. This was all a wild goose chase created by unsettled nerves.
From what she told him, Ahsoka had sort of been dragged into the whole thing by Fives, for the completely understandable reason that he was her friend. And Anakin was very determined to make that clear to everyone.
It was better to get this all sorted up before anyone got a whiff that Ahsoka was involved. Anakin was thankful he had such a good friendship with the Chancellor. He'll just take this straight to him, without going through the Jedi Council or Tarkin.
Some part of him felt guilty for the fact that he was going to break the promise he made to Ahsoka about not telling anyone. But it was for the greater good. He trusted the Chancellor, he's been a good friend and mentor to him throughout the many years, more than the Council had been.
If anyone could help with this whole thing, he could.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Anakin noooo... (insert panik head meme) Well, we'll see how this turns out xD
I actually had a ton of trouble with the Ahsoka Force choking scene, mostly the set up and all. I knew I wanted Ahsoka to save Rex from a Separatist with a Force choke, but Rex is such a badass that I was having trouble trying to put him into a situation where he would be the hostage. The implication is that he took out an assassin droid solo so an injured Kano could escape. I also made the Seppie a little more pragmatic by having him shoot at Rex as a warning to get Ahsoka to stop (the reason he took a hostage was to ensue his escape since he made the correct assumption that Jedi didn't want death). Also small fact, the fact that Ahsoka saw Rex as Anakin in her daymare-vision was supposed to imply that she was as close with him as she was with Anakin.
If some of y'all are wondering why Ahsoka didn't listen to Obi-wan about not telling Anakin about this, she doesn't quite understand why he told her not to. Ahsoka's faith/loyalty to Anakin is blinding her the same way it did in her talk with Maul in S7. Just a nice callout to it.
Other Notable Things:
- I didn't really have space to put it in the story, but only Rex, Kix, and Anakin know what Ahsoka did. Rex told Kix because he was the medic.
- Yes, Padme is already pregnant and Anakin is already having nightmares about her, but they're not as intense for some reason...I wonder why...
- I quoted Revenge of the Sith. And some other lines from the movies.
- I am not a doctor so I have no idea if the prologue is scientifically accurate, my apologies. I even watched a parasite biology video on YouTube to gain some understanding, but I decided that this is fiction and it should be okay to be a little inaccurate...?
- Ox is a Clone from the Tango Company that served with Ahsoka during the S2 Geonosis Arc. In this universe, the Tango Company got absorbed into the 501st after that battle. Edge, Pulsar, and the other Tango Clones are also part of Ahsoka's squad but went unmentioned. The reason I made Ox have a bigger role is because I wanted to make that pack animal joke :D
- Gunner and Sarge are from the SW:CW magazine comics, issue #27 Night Moves. They (along with Rex) are the only survivors of Ahsoka's night assault in that story. They doubted Ahsoka at first, but learned to trust her after she saved them and singlehandedly accomplished their mission. I made them besties and put them in Ahsoka's squad since I'd imagine they're super loyal to her now. Since I miss Fives, Gunner adopted some of his personality and Sarge is mix of Dogma/Tup.
- Tin-Tin and Flush are original clone names. They only have very minor parts, I just needed some names for 501st Clone Snipers since there were no canon ones. I really wanted to name one Tin-Tin because I like Tintin :D (also it sounds like another way to call a tinnie). Flush is based on the phrase 'Flush them out', seems like an appropriate name for a sniper.
- Burst is also an original clone. I was originally going to have Jesse in his place, but I didn't feel like hurting him in this chapter or having him steal the moment with Ahsoka & Rex. So I swapped him out for another random trooper, but Jesse still made a cameo in Anakin's section.
- I was going to get into this whole thing about how this Phindian was related to the one Ahsoka killed in the Citadel arc, but this chapter was already getting kinda bloated and it was kinda distracting so I cut that part out.
Anyway that it for now, Chapter 5 is up next! And it just keeps going downhill :(
Over halfway to the end of Act I!