adkashfksfh I couldn't figure out what to title this lmao

I'm editing this while watching tiktok lives just ignore any errors,,,

Hehe the next chapter will be fun,, stay tuned :)

Chapter Ten: Lok Durd

Grace's eyes fluttered open as a loud, rumbling noise reached her ears. She was curled up on the floor of the healing hut Anakin was being treated in, resting after a long few days. Wag Too had promised to help him while she rested, and she was too tired to object. Now, however, she was awoken from her slumber. Being a highly controversial Senator meant she could not afford the pleasure of being a heavy sleeper, as assassination attempts in one's sleep were best avoided if you were sensitive to noise. She had learned that the hard way back when the Trade Federation had been after her.

She sat up groggily, the rumbling getting louder and louder. She looked over at Anakin, who seemed to be stirring from the same noise as her. Wag Too was nowhere to be found, having likely finished his ministrations, leaving his patient to rest. Now, though, the lurmen burst through the door, eyes wide in fear.

"The Separatists!" he exclaimed in his heavy accent. "They're here!"

Guilt struck Grace like a punch in the gut. They were here for her and her friends, she knew it. This was a neutral planet, that had been the reason for the attempted negotiations. The Separatists liked to take what they wanted without asking, and they might want this peaceful settlement.

"Quick," ordered the lurmen, "hide!"

The two humans looked around for something to hide them, finding a large sheep in the corner. Grabbing it and crawling into a corner, the married couple hid under the blanket. They were pretending to be a pile of other sheets or some type of medical supplies, and they hoped that if the Seppies chose to look in here they would ignore the completely unsuspicious blanket that totally did not look like two people curled together under a sheet. Grace and Anakin shared breath as they stayed as still as possible, listening hard. Soon a deep voice rang out through the village, amplified by speakers.

"I am Lok Durd, and we are here in search of the Republic scum who fled from a battle nearby. We have traced them to this planetary system and have reason to believe you are harbouring these traitors. If you do not hand them over we will be forced to take extreme measures. You have twenty-four standard hours to comply or we raze this village to the ground!"

They dared not make a sound as they listened for the telltale clanking of droids marching away and the buzz of the transport moving to set up a base. After a suitable time had passed they threw the sheet off, looking up as Wag Too entered the hut. Even injured Anakin was protective, moving in front of his wife and drawing his lightsaber. "You will not touch her."

The lurmen raised his hands. "I mean you no harm! You need to leave here immediately. My father will surely turn you in if you do not."

The blue blade was retracted into the hilt. "I have a better idea."

Anakin, Ahsoka, Grace, Rex and Ridge sat in a circle inside of a vacant hut. The dirt ground was before them, and the General was drawing figures in it as he spoke. "This represents the base, this is the Separatist army, and this is us." He drew three separate symbols. "We need to penetrate their defences and destroy their ammunition. They cannot attack the village if they have no firepower."

"But Master," asked Ahsoka, "There are so few of us and so many of them. Not to mention you're injured. We have no firepower, how will we manage to destroy theirs?"

"Our lack in numbers aids our stealth. With so few of us we can breach their defenses without detection. As to how we destroy their munitions, it's simple. We use their own weapons against them."

Rex smirked. "I like the way you think, General."

Grace frowned. "What about the droids? They will still have their guns and can easily kill these villagers. They are all unarmed."

Anakin considered for a moment, drawing another symbol on the dirt. "This represents the village. Once their primary weapons are destroyed, the droids will head straight for it. Perhaps we could find a way to save a few tanks to use against them?"

Ridge shook his head. "That would destroy our stealth advantage. We need to find another way to destroy the droids."

Ahsoka grinned. "I may have an idea…"

Grace held tight to the trunk of the tree, trying not to look down. She was several storeys up and terrified of heights, but the plan required her to be here. There was not much to see, as the sun had set a few hours ago, but she was nervous all the same. One would think that living on Coruscant, a maze of skyscrapers, would desensitize her to heights. One would be wrong.

She looked at Anakin, standing tall on a flimsy branch. He held a vine to keep his balance, and she tried not to stare at his flexed muscles. His tunic and armor was back on in preparation for the battle, and he claimed to be ready to fight. Grace didn't want him back in the field in his condition, but she knew the survival of them and this village relied on her husband's help. Help he was happy to give, energized by the marvelous healing Wag Too had done. Whatever it was worked like a miracle, completely rejuvenating the man. He still had a bandage on his cheek and gauze wrapped around his chest under the armour, but he pretended it wasn't even there.

It was dark out, so they were relying on Rex's rangefinder. The clone helmets allowed both him and Ridge night vision, and the Jedi were using the Force to enhance their senses. Grace felt a little underqualified for this mission, but she knew that she was an important part of it. Anakin seemed to notice her worrying, and he moved a bit closer to her. "Don't worry, Grace, you'll be fine."

"It isn't me I'm really worried about. The lurmen are counting on us, what if I mess up?"

"You won't. And besides," he said with a twinkle in his eye, "we have me."

He had cheered her up a little bit, and she went back to trying not to look down. She would be of no use in trying to get a better readout on the base the Seppies had set up, so she wasn't even gonna try. Rex, however, was able to get a good look at it with his tech.

The base was surrounded by a portable wall, the main compound being the transport Lok Durd and his army had arrived in. The droids seemed to all be inside for now, aside from the ones guarding the stronghold. There was a large object visible in the center of the camp, hiding in the shadow of the main compound. Something about that set Rex on edge. "Sir, there is an unknown weapon located in the compound. It is possible that the Seppies plan to use it on the civilians."

Anakin furrowed his brows, thinking. "This does not change the plan. We had originally planned around the ship being the main firepower, but from the new threats position we need only to modify the plan a bit. You can leave it to me."

Grace sighed. "Why do I get the feeling I'm going to regret saying yes to that?"

"Ah, don't be silly."

Rex looked out at the base again. "The shift is about to change for the droids to recharge. Now is the time to act."

Anakin nodded, getting into position. He leapt from his branch to land beside his wife, putting his left arm around her waist as she let go of the tree to hold onto him. Ahsoka gripped a vine tightly, body coiled to leap, and the clones grabbed vines as well. There had been some debate as to whether the General should be allowed to carry the Senator, seeing as he was weakened from his injuries, but eventually they had decided it was the best option. The Knight in question had not wanted his wife to be brought into the action at all, but he had to admit that it was the best option for the plan to work.

As they finished getting into position the droids began to move, right on time. The group waited for them to be near arriving at their stations before leaping from the tree limbs, long vines carrying them swinging down towards the ground. The droids never even saw them before they landed right outside of the wall, Ahsoka crushing the two droids in front of them with the Force. Blaster shots and lightsabers would be too suspicious, they needed stealth.

Anakin set his wife down on the solid ground, which she was extremely thankful for. The mad descent had been thrilling and absolutely terrifying. She would never do it again. She watched as the two Jedi ignited their lightsabers, stabbing into the wall and beginning to cut it. They worked quickly together, carving a hole in no time. The entire group scrambled through, keeping watch as the hole was covered up. Now came the difficult part of the plan.

They split up, Anakin and Rex going in one direction while Ahsoka, Grace and Ridge went in the other. The General and Captain were headed to the unknown weapon. Their job was to get a better look at it and see if they could set it to self destruct. There were other ways to blow it up, but this was by far the easiest. The rest of their group was headed towards the charging port they had spotted for the droids earlier. They were to disable it discreetly. After each respective group was done they were to regroup at the hole in the wall. The backup plan was essentially to wing it.

Grace and Ridge had their blasters out as they crept through the compound, hiding in the shadows of tanks and the wall to avoid discovery. It was difficult, and the Senator feared she would take a wrong step and jeopardize plan A. Ahsoka held her lightsaber but did not ignite it, keeping it out for convenience but off for stealth. She did her best to focus on what her montrals sensed, using their echolocation abilities to better avoid droids. There were not many patrolling inside the base, as Lok Durd likely never expected the Republic "traitors" to breach his defenses.

Ridge had his bucket on, using the tech inside to help him see in the night. They had not encountered any droids yet, but the first, anticipated, obstacle greeted them when they arrived at their target. It was surrounded by several droids, facing in each direction as they surrounded the recharge console.

The Commander put her lightsaber on her belt and sat down behind the tank they had chosen to take cover behind, getting ready to slip into meditation.

"You can do it, Ahsoka, I believe in you," encouraged Grace.

The togruta gave the Senator, a good friend and role model, a smile. She closed her eyes and slipped into the Force, feeling its currents the way her Master had instructed. She traveled its currents to the group of droids, weaving them around each and every B-1 there. Her brows furrowed as she concentrated, sweat beading her forehead as she focused hard. With a final burst of energy she crushed the droids, destroying them all at once with the Force.

The Senator patted her shoulder with a smile and helped her up, joining Ridge at the console. He skimmed through the paragraphs of aurebesh on the screen, stopping when he found what he needed. His fingers flashed across the console as he powered down the charger, keeping it going but cutting off its connection to the droids. With enough luck none would notice until it was too late. The Commander stepped forwards, slicing the console with her lightsaber before quickly sheathing it.

"We need to get out of here quickly, they're bound to notice this soon," whispered Ahsoka.

The other two nodded and they headed back to the wall.

Anakin and Rex silently wove through the shadows, avoiding the increasingly large droid patrols as they neared their target. It was three times the size of a regular tank, outfitted with a large gun. The barrel was short and wide, very different from that of a regular tank. The two Republic soldiers climbed up the weapon, silently slipping inside and closing it behind them. They were greeted by the soft orange glow of the control panels, taking up most of the space. The tank's insides were pretty small for something of its size, indicating a large power source.

The General looked around, noting the routine cockpit. The only difference was the simplicity in controls. "What does this thing do?"

Rex took off his bucket for a better look at the control panel, reading the tiny aurebesh labellings. "I can't tell from this, sir. The most I can say is that it has very few settings."

Anakin took the clone's place in front of the controls, looking them over. They seemed to be for aiming, mainly, but also for aerial and land. His brow furrowed, confused. What kind of tank couldn't aim in the air or on land without special controls? "I sense that this weapon is far more dangerous than it seems. We should hotwire it to destroy itself before we're caught."

The Captain nodded. "How are you planning on doing that, sir?"

"Here, let me show you."

Grace was impatient in waiting for Anakin to return. She was worried for him and really wanted to get out of this stronghold. She was not afraid for herself, but practically it would be smart to leave before they were caught. It was incredibly relieving when he and Rex came into view. The married couple smiled at each other, unable to embrace like they would like to, and stood back as Ahsoka removed the hole in the wall again. The group climbed nimbly through, replacing it as they exited. The plan was to hope the droids didn't notice until the weapon was already up in flames.

Ahsoka brought up their rear as they fled. They would need to be fast to avoid detection, so it was with urgency that they ran through the night. The Force had been with them inside the compound, keeping them from detection, but it was unknown how long that luck would last. For the safety of them and the villagers they all hoped Anakin's sabotage had worked. Grace didn't doubt him for a second. She knew how talented he was; they appreciated each other.

Wag Too ran to meet them when they arrived at the village, rushing them inside one of the huts.

"Were you successful?" He asked, voice full of fear.

"I hope so," replied Anakin. "We'll keep an eye on the horizon; that will give us all the clues we need as to whether this worked."

"When is it gonna go off?" Ahsoka wondered.

At that moment a boom shook the ground. Grace rushed to the window to see a mushroom cloud of fire inside the Separatist compound. The transport was blown across the plains, skidding from the concussive force.

"Right now."

They could hear and see lurmen villagers rushing from their homes to see the commotion, and gasps and cries could be heard. Ignoring Wag Too's warnings, Anakin rushed outside to get a better look. Grace followed right behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder as she stopped beside him. They looked on at the fiery blaze together, but the smiles slipped from their faces as battle droids approached from the midst of the explosion.

"It looks like some of them survived the blast!" called Ahsoka.

Grace looked up at her husband, noting the look of grim determination on his face. She sighed. "Just go. I know you want to."

He gave her an awkward shoulder pat, barely restraining from pecking her on the cheek, and ran off towards the wave of droids heading to the village. After a moment of consideration she followed, blaster held in front of her. She decided to stay distanced from the battle and shoot the droids down from afar. It was safer and more suited to her talents which unfortunately did not include being impervious to blaster bolts.

Ahsoka sprinted past her, lightsaber held ignited behind her in a shien grip. She rushed at the droids, deflecting blaster bolts back at their owners as she ran. Finally reaching the front lines, she began to carve through plasteel like butter. Ridge and Rex were not far behind, providing her with cover fire as their General covered them in turn. It was an immensely efficient system.

They expected to fight this battle alone, a last stand in the dark, but they were pleasantly surprised when several lurmen ran charging from the village, brandishing primitive weapons. They ran with spirit, Wag Too in their lead. It seemed he had convinced them not to stand idly by while the Separatists colonized them. Good, it was time to rise up against the enemy, and the more fighters the better.

The lurmen had ropes and staffs, and they worked not to dismantle the droids but to disable them. There were too few to stop all the villagers as they attacked, and the added bonus of Republic troops and a Senator were quite helpful. In no time they had disabled and destroyed the remainder of the droid army. They had been helped along by the slowness in movements due to their low battery, the trick of having messed with the charging station turning out to be effective.

Grace left her spot behind cover to rush to Anakin, who had started coughing a bit after all the fighting. She put his arm over her shoulder, and he leaned on her. He whispered in her ear, so quiet that only she heard, "You're my rock, Grace."

She gave his hand a subtle squeeze, saying what words could not. They sighed as Lok Durd's transport took off, fleeing the planet. He would live to be scum another day.

Wag Too, followed by the heroic villagers who had aided the fight, ran up to their heroes. "Thank you! We see now that the Republic is more just than the Separatists, that this is the side we should join. We will join the Republic."

Grace smiled. "Thank you, Wag Too. I'm sure the Republic will come looking for us soon, I will be glad to inform the Chancellor of this when we return to Coruscant."

The lurmen smiled. "I would be honoured to call you a friend, Senator."

"And I you, Wag Too."

End of chapter!

Notes:

-The real republic was the friends we made along the way

-Next chapter is gonna get a lil sidetracked from the plot, but after that we're rewriting episodes again

-Istg writing these without google is both so much more fun and a huge headache

-Once again, plot armour and being vague saves me from writing abt stuff idc about

-Yes i left out the whole ahsoka plotline and the entire plotline around the lurmen. I didnt want to write it smh

-spent a while using my massive brain to plan the next chapter,,, its gonna be a fun one

Tune in in about,,,,, 6 days for the next chapter!