It's been a while since I made one of these, but I've decided to expand on the Clone Wars. I feel like I never really explored Xur and Ahsoka's relationship in its early stages to an effective extent. This is the "Water War" trilogy, and where the signs between the two become much more apparent.
Chapter 6: Water War
Xur adjusted his flippers as he stood, waiting for the unloading bay to open up from the Republic Cruiser. His suit was tight, more than he would like, but it would have to do. If there was a list of everything that he hated, water would be towards the top. He was never a great swimmer, but Master Windu insisted he trained in case missions like these popped up.
Helmet was see-through and already began to pour in oxygen as it pressurized. He moved his neck around in a circular motion to loosen it up and shrugged, preparing himself for the jump. Behind him, he sensed the presence of the all-too-familiar amphibian Jar Jar Binks.
"We-sa ready," he said.
Xur couldn't hold back a smile from his voice. "Good Jar Jar. I'm going to need you to lead forces to Anakin's position while I break off for the price, just as Windu briefed." Just as he finished, the unloading bay opened up to reveal the bright light of Mon Cala. The endless ocean was strangely peaceful despite what was going on beneath. He then looked behind to see the hundreds of Gungans prepared to battle.
With one last look, he screamed "Attack!", and catapulted himself over the edge. Before the endless rush of wind occupied his speakers, he heard the battle cry of all the Gungans, and it made him proud to lead them on. The endless ocean approached faster and faster, before he plunged beneath. After a second to regain his bearings, he got a look below. The city was vast, but broken in many areas. Droids and small insurgents were doing battle.
He then grabbed the two lightsabers he had brought and locked them together, forming a dual-bladed staff. Focusing on the Force, he made them suspend in front of his hands and then spin rapidly. He shot off like a bullet and rushed to the coordinates he was given. His mission was rather simple: assist the Jedi with the protection of Price Lee-Char and eradicate all droids in his path. He didn't have any problems with that.
As he approached his destination, he found the skirmish he was looking for. Three green sabers were shining through the water and deflecting bolts. That had to be Ahsoka and Fisto. He picked up speed so he would careen into the droid closest to them too look flashy and surprising of course. Just as intended, he ripped through the droid, and his spinning saber ripped it into oblivion. He then cut the spin to drop speed and executed a u turn, letting the water carry him up to his target.
"Master Eon! The tide has turned!" Fisto said sarcastically.
Xur unclipped his sabers and raised his eyebrows. "Is that supposed to be funny? Of course I brought reinforcements!" Almost on cue, his Gungan army appeared and engaged the droid forces. Xur got a look at who was with him, and quickly saw the young Calamari he was supposed to find. Clipping his sabers to his belt, he held out his hand. "The name's Xur, but you can call me Eon if you want."
The young prince shook it vigorously. He could see the determination in his eyes upon the army's arrival. "I can't thank you enough Master Eon, as you can see it's been a bit rough as of late."
Xur scoffed. "What, is Ahsoka not working hard enough?" He met her eyes for a second and saw the I'm-going-to-punch-you-so-hard-in-the-face look.
The Price looked confused. "No, she's-,"
"It was a joke," Xur clarified, raising his hand. "Anyway, I think it's time to scrap some clankers, don't you?" The Prince nodded vigorously and almost pushed him out of the way to join the charge, Fisto and the clones close behind. With them gone, it was only Ahsoka left with him.
"So nice of you to show up, jerk," she said, punching him in the shoulder, hard at that. "I thought you hated the ocean?"
Xur grimaced and rubbed his shoulder from the punch. "Ow…I do, but I really had nothing better to do. Trust me; this is better than staying in the temple listening to the council go on about nothing."
Ahsoka shook her head. "You just never do it because you have to do you? It's always 'just because you could'."
Xur couldn't tell if she was trying to call out his bluff or was throwing an annoyed comment his way. For some reason, it really mattered to him. He shrugged. "Yeah, whatever, we've got a Prince to protect, remember?"
"Of course, I was doing that before you flew in!" she added before swimming off, running into his shoulder on her way. Not about to sit around, Xur ignited his saber and dove down to the battle below. Ahsoka was obviously the faster swimmer, and Xur wasn't even close to a good one as well. This caused him to barely keep up without his propeller forged by his saber. Nonetheless, he pressed on, swimming as fast as he could to keep up with the quick Togruta.
Once he was in the thick of the battle, he drew one saber and cut through three aqua droids and then force pushed the debris towards four more, scrapping them easily. Once he had dealt with the droids in his immediate area, he looked for the Prince. After deflecting beams and cutting through a Quarren motor pod, he found the Prince firing back at incoming droids. Smiling, Xur swam as fast as he could towards him to ensure his safety.
After Lee-Char had shot down a couple of droids, one attempted to come up from below. Xur cut the droid up the middle to split it in half before taking the Prince's side. "You missed one," Xur joked.
The Calamari grunted as he kept firing at others. "Thank you Master Eon, but there are still many more to go!"
"True enough," Xur replied as he grabbed his other saber, locking the two together to form a staff. With that, Ahsoka appeared from below, cutting through a droid moving in on them. She then swam forward to meet the two. Xur chuckled. "We're just getting started!" Ahsoka met his eyes and gave him a nod before the three turned away from each other and protected their backs respectively. Xur's saber whizzed through the water as it spun, deflecting beams. He then gave it a hurl, decapitating what seemed like 10 droids at once before returning back to his hand. It seemed like losing was impossible at this point.
Suddenly, the sound of machinery filled the area, and Xur spotted a squid carrier above. "Incoming!" he shouted, pointing above. Ahsoka and Lee-Char looked towards the area he was pointing towards and watched it point upwards. Its long, mechanical tentacles then spread out and began to spin in a large circle. Xur quickly felt the water around them form a cyclone, and soon everyone inside was thrown into the mess. They were trapped.
Xur growled as he lost sight of Ahsoka and the Prince. Knowing that staying too close to the edge would suck him in, he made for the center, where he could finally see again. He then caught the Prince as he was suddenly thrown towards him, and the green glow of Ahsoka's saber was at the origin point.
"Stay in the center! There's less turbulence!" she shouted for the Prince. Xur let him go and drew a saber to defend against the incoming droids. When it seemed clear Xur heard a hatch open up above, and out from the carrier came a monstrous sea creature that he was wide-eyed at.
"He-llo ugly," Xur commented as it rushed for them, emitting a menacing roar with its arms outstretched. Repulsed, he reared back with his saber and swung forward, attempting to keep it back. However, with ease, the creature caught his wrist with both hands and kicked him away. Reeling, Xur reached out with the Force and grabbed ahold of the creature before it could reach the Prince and pulled it towards him. He then landed a clean hit with his fist to its teethed head.
Angered, the creature lashed out with his mouth open, attempting to crush Xur's helmet. The zabrak dodged just in time, diving below and landing a kick on his chest. The creature shook his head, shaken by the hit. This gave Ahsoka time to come to his side, her lightsaber drawn. Xur reclaimed his and held it out in front, daring the beast to come near.
Knowing he wouldn't defeat them both, he pressed a button on his wrist. It didn't have an immediate effect, but the battalion of droids that moved in proved what his strategy. Ahsoka bared her teeth in frustration as the beast disappeared into the cyclone. Xur got to quick work on the incoming droids, reattaching his two sabers and spinning them as fast as possible. He shot off, cutting through multiple droids in the distance while Ahsoka worked on the closer ones.
The creature appeared from behind and grabbed the Prince, attempting to kill him yet again. Xur stopped his spinning and detached his sabers, getting rid of the last of the droids. He then rushed for the Prince, but he was just too far.
Kit Fisto then appeared from above and freed the Prince, engaging the beast on his own. Pushing him away, Fisto turned towards Xur and Ahsoka. "Take the Prince! I'll hold them off."
Ahsoka fired a cable towards the ground and swooped up the Prince, exiting the cyclone while Xur was close behind. Once they were out of sight, they saw the droids surround Fisto, and he raised his hands in surrender. Xur knew it was for the greater good, but he couldn't keep from clenching his fist in frustration as they swam away.
Lee-Char, Ahsoka, and Xur all stayed low in a cave overlooking the water around them. Xur floated in the back, thinking about how it could've gone better, what he should've done better, and what he would've done now. The Prince looked out, broken beyond what Xur could possibly feel right now. Ahsoka simply looked on him in sympathy, trying to convince him that it wasn't over for him yet.
He didn't come on this mission to get lost in the ocean, a place he hated more than many other situations. He had to do something, but he had nothing to achieve anything really meaningful. If only he could get Captain Raven and the 502nd here, things would be different.
But it wouldn't happen, so he dropped that thought. It was almost as if the Force was testing him to see if he could create something from nothing. Among all of the downsides, it was at least nice to have Ahsoka with him. Frustrated, he brought his struggles to the rest of the group. "We have to do something! Sitting here won't free Mon Cala any time soon."
"I know, but we don't exactly have any options at this time," Ahsoka replied, venting her own frustrations. Xur waved his hands upwards, dragging through the water.
"We need to find a way to free the prisoners, but we don't have nearly enough manpower to pull that off," Xur suggested. "There has to be another way."
Lee-Char sighed. "There is. Calamari and Quarren must be reunited."
Xur crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. Ahsoka shrugged. "Ok…I like you're thinking, but what's the strategy?" she asked.
The Prince then pointed towards the prisoners being transported to the camps. "Count all the prisoners, Calamari, Gungans, clones. If we all fought together we would outnumber our opponent!"
"Yes, but how are you going to convince the Quarren to join you and free the prisoners at the same time?" Xur asked.
Lee-Char nodded. "We'll need Captain Akbar, and I think I know where to find him," before he swam off towards the camps ahead. Xur and Ahsoka lagged a bit behind as they made their way towards the prisoners.
"Still managing in water?" Ahsoka joked.
Xur kept his eyes on the Prince but couldn't suppress a smile. "I'm doing fine, thanks for asking, although, I wouldn't mind a bit of land under my feet sometime soon." Ahsoka smiled and swam ahead with an elegant stroke, unlike his unrefined and choppy style. He almost held a bit of jealousy for her ease through the water, while he struggled to keep up on his own. In this case, brawn did not beat the small.
Ahsoka was by no means small. In size maybe, but strength-wise she came up to par with most of her opponents. Looks were definitely deceiving with her. Xur himself looked like he was definitely built, but not to the likes of Pong Krell or Quinlan Vos. He used the Force to augment his strength when necessary, something that Ahsoka was a master at. Despite his knighthood and her apprenticeship, he learned a great deal from the Togruta.
He was lucky to have met Skywalker on Geonosis. When he and Windu jumped from the platform into the arena, that was a turning point in his life. Of course he knew Anakin before the battle, but never personally. They practically became knights together, despite their two year age difference. Eventually, they found themselves on Christophsis where they both met Ahsoka for the first time.
It was odd, since Ahsoka wasn't this "chosen one" like Anakin, but she still felt like one of the strongest young Jedi he had ever met. After she survived the Citadel, he was sure that she was something special…just not what "special" particularly meant.
Shaking his head as his thoughts delved into strange places, he came up behind Ahsoka and Lee-Char, hiding behind a nearby wall. On the other side was the electric gate holding the prisoners. A droid battalion passed by as they approached.
"How can we be sure Captain Akbar is inside?" Ahsoka asked.
"Got a better idea?" Xur added. Ahsoka sighed and nodded. Once the droids deactivated the fence, they waited a few seconds before making their way in. They swam quickly, just in time for the gate to reactivate behind them. Xur felt a sharp nip on his toe and clenched his teeth before he screamed. They then dove into growing seaweed to avoid being seen by any droids. Now, they just had to find Captain Akbar, wherever he was.
After a few minutes of swimming through seaweed, a voice sounded below. "Prince Lee-Char?" A Calamari then made his way up to the Prince. "Are you a prisoner here as well?"
Suddenly, multiple Calamari were forming a circle around the Prince. With little choice, Xur and Ahsoka joined in as well. "I'm here, but not as a prisoner," Lee-Char reasoned. "I've come with a message. As your future king, I have not lost hope. There will come a time when you will be free again! I will not fail you."
Xur nodded in agreement. The young Prince definitely had a way of courage.
"Commander Tano, General Eon," a clone's voice sounded.
"Muck! Am I glad to see you!" Ahsoka exclaimed as he approached the group. Xur crossed his arms.
"Something good actually happened for once!" Xur added.
"Likewise Sirs, but you three must come with me now. You'll attract too much attention here, and I think there's someone who'll be happy to see you." Muck explained before swimming away from the group, Ahsoka, Xur, and Lee-Char following.
Xur couldn't bear the sight, and he doubted the Prince could either. They made their way through the camp and saw nothing but despair in countless faces. The zabrak could feel the anger inside him take off higher than it had before.
It was Riff Tamson as he learned earlier that was behind the destruction. The horrific beast would die by his saber if it came to it. He could almost feel Dooku's deception across the planet. The Quarren were nothing more than slaves to their own cause, and he was sure that they would see this soon enough.
They eventually made it to the injured Captain Akbar along with the Calamari Senator Tills. The Prince's face brought joy across the area. Akbar could barely open his eyes as Lee-Char approached. "I knew you would survive the battle."
"Captain, I need your help, I have plan," Lee-Char explained. Above, Xur nudged Ahsoka.
"What is it?" she asked as the Prince relayed his plan. Xur looked around a bit before he turned back towards her.
"My 'we're getting captured' sense is tingling. I saw a few droids mobilize back there," he pointed towards the way they came. "They want the Prince."
Ahsoka nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Well, if you spot anything, let me know," Xur then looked at the hand on his shoulder. He found his eyes tracing it back to her face, where he was almost mesmerized. "Ok?" she smiled.
Xur snapped out of his trance. "Y-yes of course. I-I'll let you know," he then reverted his attention back to the way he was looking before. She then patted his shoulder and joined the conversation below. The Zabrak couldn't even focus. What just happened to him was indescribable. Embarrassed, he wiped his glass shield with both hands.
Suddenly, a battalion of droids appeared and surrounded the group, guns pointed. "You are under arrest," one of them said. Xur quickly drew his saber and fell back to Ahsoka, who had hers drawn as well. It was time to scrap.
"No, stay your blades my friends," he reasoned. Xur flashed the kid the I-hope-you-know-what-you're-doing look and returned his saber to his belt. "I'm Lee-Char, leader of the Mon-Cala people, and I demand to speak with your superiors!" The droids then acted quickly, removing their sabers and leading them away. If it were up to him, Xur would've cut them all down by now, but it wasn't up to him. All he could do was trust the Prince.
Xur shook his head as he found himself cuffed next to Ahsoka, overlooking the Prince surrounded by the Carcadon warriors. It was not exactly what he wanted to happen. He told himself countless times that he doesn't get captured, but here he was.
Now, he wasn't impervious to being imprisoned, but he always had control over the situation. In this case it was rather easy, since the cuffs they used were locked together by one mechanism in the middle. If he got that to unclip, he was free. So that's what he did as Anakin and the others floated down next to them, chained up in two different ways. He kept his eyes closed, using the Force to feel around the inside of the mechanism. He then heard a satisfying click, but kept the cuffs on.
"I'm free," he whispered to Ahsoka. She nodded and then overlooked the Prince. The Togruta couldn't help but feel a bit of fear for him.
"Good job protecting the Prince," Anakin said sarcastically.
"It's all part of the plan Master," Ahsoka replied with a reassuring smile. Anakin barely held back a chuckle of joy.
"I was hoping you were going to say that. Anything I can do?"
"Unfortunately this time it's out of our hands," she answered with a worried look. Anakin's face almost was contagious to her look.
"I'm not sure I like this plan after all."
"Have a little faith Skywalker. I have them right where I want them," Xur assured before they all turned their attention back to the execution proceedings. Tamson floated above, overlooking the entire area.
"For crimes against the Separatist State, I command the execution of former Prince Lee-Char!" he then paused, looking around the area for anything unusual. Xur looked to Nosa-Rai, the Quarren leader, and could've sworn he saw him nod towards Captain Akbar. The Zabrak prepped himself. Tamson then waved his hand. "Kill him!"
The Carcadons circled the Prince and then lined up above. With that, they let out a menacing roar and charged him. Suddenly, Nosa-Rai spewed ink from his tentacles and raced forward, grabbing the Prince. He then appeared on the other side of the ink with the Prince and freed him from his bonds.
"Fight, Quarren! Fight for Prince Lee-Char!" he shouted before Lee-Char killed the three executioners with his blaster. Xur shook his head and laughed.
"All too easy," he chuckled before ripping his arms free from his cuffs and grabbing the droid behind him. Using Force-augmented strength, he ripped it apart with his bare hands and grabbed his floating lightsabers, igniting them almost on contact. With a whirl, he cut down four other droids around him and turned to Ahsoka. "Ahsoka! I-," he was stopped when he saw her already freeing Skywalker and Fisto. Speechless, the only sound that came from his mouth was "Huh."
He then joined in, cutting Jar Jar free from his restraints. When Ahsoka passed by, he stopped her. "How did you-,"
"Break free? It helps to be skinny you know?" she then swam towards the battle, Xur shaking his head. She was just full of surprises. The two Jedi quickly engaged the droid forces, aiding the Gungans, clones, Calamari, and now Quarren battling the droids. Xur realized that Lee-Char had been right, and the droids were being quickly overwhelmed. It was only a matter of time before they would win.
With the reinforcements, he and Ahsoka felt unstoppable. Droids didn't stand a chance against their blades as they quickly disposed of each one, gliding through the water. It was a thing of beauty.
Once Xur had demolished all droids in his immediate vicinity, he searched for the Prince. While his plan had succeeded, he still had a job to do. He eventually did spot the Calamari…blowing Riff Tamson to bits. The young Prince breathed heavily as he had finally killed the threat to all life on Mon Cala. It was over…and they had won.
"Long live the Prince!" many shouted as the recognized Tamson's unfortunate end. Xur chuckled as Ahsoka came to his side.
"Looks like I'll finally be able to return to dry land…at last," he sighed. Ahsoka couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh, admit it. You like it down here just fine," she teased, punching him lightly on the shoulder.
"Alright," Xur smiled as he looked at the devastated city, but victorious battle field. "Maybe a little."
And that concludes this extra. I will be adding more of these, but I'm not quite sure which arc will come next. I will admit that I want to rewrite the Mortis trilogy, but I'm not sure how much would really be changed. The first chapter really needs a clean-up, so that might be one I rewrite. Anyways if you enjoyed please follow/fav and leave a review! Thanks for reading!
