Chapter 13 – Preparations
I found this rather funny and useful "random name generator" for Star Wars via Google. This makes it a lot easier for me to name characters. I've added the link to this page at the bottom of the chapter.
On another note, I now have a total of 75 reviews for my stories. I really wasn't expecting this much when I began writing this just for the fun of it. Thanks a bunch to all who reviewed, favorited and followed my stories. I hope you continue to enjoy the stories as they progress.
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Ahsoka was standing in the barracks of the H'Raani M'Kai, the royal guards of Shili. She couldn't help being excited. When she was a youngling she had read about her people's culture on several occasions. The stories about the elite Togrutan soldiers had fascinated her. Warriors trained in the ancient fighting arts of their ancestors. Their skill and power is known to rival that of Jedi Masters, but where Jedi keep to the Jedi Code and restrain themselves in battle, the H'Raani M'Kai use their full force in battle. Because of this they're known as some of the deadliest warriors of Shili and several other parts of the galaxy.
Ahsoka had often wondered how strong these warriors actually were. Now she had a chance to see it for herself: the king had assigned twelve H'Raani M'Kai warriors to help her rescue his daughter. "You're sure that there's going to be Republic force on Felucia?" the leader of the elite warrior band, Shaden Zadane, asked Ahsoka. She turned to him. He was a light-green skinned Togruta with matching green-white lekku. He was very burly and obviously an extremely well trained fighter. Ahsoka nodded. "Yes, when a vision is as clear as the one I had it will definitely come true." She replied. "I could see Master Unduli and Master Secura leading an assault on the base while we sneaked in the base with Padawan Offee and a team of clone troopers." Shaden nodded. "Alright, so there is a secret way in the base?" Ahsoka smiled. "Yes, and I know where it is now." She answered. Shaden smiled as well. "Good, that will give us an advantage. Every time the enemy doesn't know that we're coming, by the time they realize it's always too late." He said with a smirk. Ahsoka chuckled a bit. "Wow, you're just radiating confidence. That's pretty amazing." She said. He chuckled as well. "Why wouldn't I be? I know my own strength and that of my fellow warriors and friends. We are all trained with standard close range and long distance weapons, and we all specialize in a personal choice of weapon." He replied. Ahsoka looked a bit curious. "What kind of weapons?" she asked. "All kinds of different weapons next to our standard blasters." Shaden replied. "For instance: Gaven is very adapt with his sniper, Dodge uses two vibro blades to deliver fast and wild blows, Cira has a different type of vibro blade known as a snake sword. This sword is flexible much like a whip and can extend to about 2 meters. Aurora is a strong marksman and she uses dual high quality blasters and Tironos is like a tank. He can lift very heavy equipment and so he uses two adjusted miniguns, one on each arm. I myself use a large, heavy two-handed vibro battle-axe." He explained. "That's pretty impressive." Ahsoka replied. "I know how to use different types of blasters and whatnot, but I mostly use my lightsaber." Shaden nodded. "I've heard about the weapons of the Jedi and their personal connection they have with their swords. As a warrior, I respect that a lot. I saw how you beat the general, you're pretty strong yourself, aren't you?" Ahsoka smiled. "I've had some very good trainers. You gotta be very strong yourself to use a heavy battle-axe." She replied. Shaden chuckled. "Yes, it takes a lot of training to use such a heavy weapon. Our ancestors developed ways to effectively use them and I've learned those ways." "That's quite amazing." Ahsoka said.
A Togruta female with blue skin and dark green lekku entered the room, followed by a few palace servants carrying a box of equipment. Shaden looked at them. "Ah! Ahsoka, this is Cira Tao-ni. Cira, this is Ahsoka Tano." Ahsoka walked to the Togrutan warrior and shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you." Cira smiled. "Likewise, Ahsoka." She gestured at the servants. They placed the box one of the tables at the side of the room. Ahsoka looked at the box with interest. A few hours ago they had made some measurements of her body size. She figured that whatever they did with that data was in the box. Shaden laughed and went to the table and gestured for Ahsoka to come as well. He opened the box and placed it contents on the table. Ahsoka went a little wide-eyed. "Wow…" Shaden chuckled a bit at her surprised expression. "What? You'll be fighting with the H'Raani M'Kai, we're not going to let you fight without some protection." He said as he gestured at the armour lying on the table. It was the same type of armour as Shaden and Cira wore, only made to fit her size. It was dark green in colour, much like the forests of Shili. "Our signature armour is made multitude of alloys to ensure it's durable and very sturdy. However, because of the combination of materials it's also very light." He explained. "Go on, try it on." Ahsoka smiled. "Alright!" she said excitedly.
With a bit of help from two of the servants Ahsoka fit the armour on over her clothes. She looked at herself excitedly. "Shaden's right, this armour is really light." She thought to herself. "It seems like a good fit and it looks good on you as well." Cira said. Ahsoka turned to face her. "Thanks, it's a great fit." Ahsoka chuckled a bit. "Something wrong?" Shaden asked. Ahsoka turned to him. "Oh no, it's just… As a little girl I read about the H'Raani M'Kai in the Temple's archives. I was quite fascinated by the stories. I never thought that I would be fighting alongside you." She said. "There are a lot of people that wish to join our group of warriors, but not many can compete on our level." Cira said. "However, when I look at you I recognize that certain spark in your eyes." She smiled. "Like us, you have that unbreakable will we've inherited from our ancestors." Shaden nodded. "Yep, she's right about that." He said. Ahsoka's lekku darkened a bit. "Now then Ahsoka, you've fought the Separatists before. What can you tell us about their forces?" Shaden asked. Ahsoka nodded back. "Plenty, I've crushed I don't even know how many droids when I was with the Order. I can tell you a lot about their different units and their weaknesses." She replied. Shaden and Cira looked at each other. "Good," Shaden said. "Let's gather the rest of our team and then you can tell us about those droids." Ahsoka nodded and they left the room.
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Sometime later Ahsoka was in one of the training rooms of the barracks. She had met the rest of the team and she was telling them about the different combat units and whatnot the Separatists use during battles. The warriors were all paying close attention to her instructions about the droids and especially their weaknesses. The fact that the princess had been kidnapped was a big insult to them and they were very eager to correct this mistake.
"And, apart from the standard battle droid's lacking armour, they're also pretty stupid." Ahsoka explained. She had just told them about the stronger units and was now telling them about the regular droids. "What do you mean by 'stupid'?" Aurora asked slightly confused. Ahsoka chuckled. "By stupid, I mean that the Separatists haven't really given their droids a brain. They can barely think on their own and will perform stupid actions sometimes." She shrugged. "I've seen droids pick up grenades while wondering what it is more than once, in doing so, they blew themselves up." "Hang on," Shaden said. "They literally pick up enemy grenades and don't know what they are?" Ahsoka nodded. "That's right." The group of warriors looked at each other before laughing. "A few droids are rarely a challenge, but they make up for their flawed design with sheer numbers." Ahsoka continued. "In previous battles, the droids usually outnumbered us at least ten to one." Shaden nodded. "I see, but seeing as we'll be infiltrating the base we'll be fighting in close quarters. This will render their numbers ineffective." He got up. "Alright then, we'll depart in four hours. All of you, prepare for departure. We'll meet in the hangars in three hours." Everyone nodded and left the room. Ahsoka followed behind them.
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Marina and Lilo were both sitting in Marina's quarters in the palace. As future Senators and advisors they had their own space in the palace for their work. They were discussing what had just transpired in the main hall. Ahsoka had left with Shaden Zadane to talk about the kidnapped princess. "What do you think Ahsoka's doing right now?" Lilo asked her older sister. "I'm not sure." Marina replied. "I guess she's helping the H'Raani M'Kai figure out a way to rescue the princess." Lilo shrugged. "Guess so…"
The doorbell chimed, interrupting their conversation. "Come in." Marina said. The door opened and Ahsoka walked in the room. Both Marina and Lilo looked surprised as their younger sister walked in dressed in the same armour as the elite royal guards. "Wow, Ahsoka!" Lilo said in surprise as she looked at her sister. "What are you…?" Marina asked confused. Ahsoka smiled and sat down next to her sisters. "I'm going to help rescue the princess from Felucia. Shaden and the other warriors had a set of armour made for me." She explained to her sisters. "Amazing, you're actually going to fight alongside the H'Raani M'Kai." Marina said. Ahsoka nodded. "I'm very excited. And we'll definitely rescue the princess." She replied with confidence. "I'm sure you will." Lilo said.
They talked for a bit longer. After that, Ahsoka went back home to gather some things and inform her parents about where she was going. When she was ready, she went to the hangar to meet up with the rescue team. After a final check of their equipment, Ahsoka and the royal guard departed for Felucia.
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Lux Bonteri sighed in frustration. "How things can get out of hand…" he thought. "One moment you're on your way to a meeting with multiple Senators and the next you're all prisoners of the Separatists." Their ship had suffered from a malfunction of the hyperdrive and they had to leave hyperspace. After that they had been attacked, boarded and kidnapped. His hands shook with anger. One of the so called "guards" had sold them out to the Separatists. He had sabotaged the hyperdrive and handed them over to the Separatists. "At least he got what he deserved." Lux thought. When he went to collect his payment the Separatist commander had shot him.
Lux looked around the room. They were in a prison compartment of a Separatist base. It was a large hallway with multiple cells. Ray shields blocked the doors and there were no vents so they had no way of getting out. The individual cells were quite large though, capable of holding about twenty people each. He was in a cell with one of his assistants, Senator Organa and a few of his staff were in the cell as well. He sighed again. Senator Organa had offered to bring everyone along on his own ship. There was more than enough room for multiple Senators and their staff. This way, they could already discuss a few things for the meeting and just enjoy each other's company. He didn't blame the Senator however, Bail Organa couldn't have known this would happen. He just wanted everyone to be able to relax and socialize for a bit, some peace and quiet for once in this war.
A few hours after they had been brought in the cell a Togrutan female was brought in as well. She was about Ahsoka's age and had a similar orange shade of skin. "I wonder how Ahsoka is doing right now." Lux wondered. He looked at the Togruta. She was sitting against the wall and had pulled her legs up to her chest, hiding her face. Lux moved a little closer. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked softly. She was startled at first, but relaxed a bit. "N-Not r-really…" she replied softly. She looked at Lux, it was obvious that she had been crying. "I'm Lux Bonteri, the Senator of Onderon. Who are you?" Lux said kindly, hoping to comfort her a bit. "M-my name is Zaa Vashee… I'm the princess of Shili…" she replied softly. "I-I don't know w-why they… Shili is neutral…" Lux sighed. "That doesn't matter to certain Separatists. They will try to force other planets to join their cause and they will even commit heinous acts like this." He said. "They killed so many of my servants, including my oldest friend who looked after me since I was little…" Zaa said softly as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I know how you feel." Lux replied. "Dooku murdered my mother." He looked at the Shilian princess. "But don't worry, the Republic will come to rescue all of us." She looked back at him. "A-are you sure?" she asked softly. Lux nodded. "Yes, I'm sure." He replied smiling.
Before they could say anything else the ray shield in front of the door deactivated. Two droids appeared and tossed someone in the cell and left. The ray shield activated again. Everyone in the cell looked in shock and horror at the mangled body of the Twi'lek that had just been thrown in. She had bruises all over her lekku, her robes were tattered and she was bleeding from multiple cuts. Her back was covered with burn marks. Senator Organa made his way to the side of the girl. "Get a pillow or something! Try and make her a bit comfortable." He said to no one in particular. A few others in the room grabbed some things from the bunks and went to her side as well.
"Who is she?" Zaa asked Lux softly, horror in her eyes. Lux was looking at the scene with anger. "Nyla Sonter, the Jedi padawan that was with us." He said in an angry tone. "They killed her master and captured her." He shook his head. "They tortured her. Those cold-blooded bastards."
About an hour later a group of droids entered the cell again. They grabbed the Shilian princess. "Hey! Let me go!" she yelled and struggled, but she wasn't any match against the droids. They dragged her out of the cell and the ray shield on the door activated behind them.
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Zaa Vashee was worried as the droids brought her to another room and strapped her to a chair. After a moment another person stepped in the room. It was a human with dark hair. "Ah, the esteemed princess Zaa Vashee of Shili. Welcome to my little base." He said with a cocky voice. She looked at him with visible anger in her face. "What do you want?" she asked frustrated. He smiled and pulled another chair towards her and sat down in front of her. "Oh, not much really." He said in the same irritating tone. "I just want you to contact your dear father and persuade him to join the Separatist alliance." He said with a wicked smile. Her face turned to shock. "This is all a plot to conquer Shili?" she thought. "Never!" she said defiantly, baring her sharp teeth. The commander's smile faded and he hit her hard in the face causing her and the chair to hall over. Zaa grunted in pain as she slammed on the ground. "Lock her up in one of the isolation cells. I don't have time to deal with this right now." He said frustrated. "Roger, roger." One of the droids replied. They cut her loose from the chair and dragged her out of the room to another cell. When they entered the cell they grabbed the chains hanging from the wall and locked them around her wrists. After that the droids left and shut the thick steel door. Zaa Vashee was left in complete darkness and loneliness.
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I know, no large scale battles yet. This chapter leads up to it and I wanted to tell a bit more about the H'Raani M'Kai, the elite warriors I thought off.
And yes, the scene in the prison cell is the same in both stories. I did this to make sure that people who only read one of the stories don't miss certain parts. Otherwise some things wouldn't make sense.
I was still looking for a way to include Lux again in the story but I wasn't really sure how. Noil23sj came with a nice thought about Lux being one of the captured senators. I think that this fits in very nicely, so thanks for the suggestion.
This is the link for the name generator I used (it's a real pain to add a link):
www.
dimfuture.
net/
starwars/
random/
generate.
php
Just put everything in one line. Thanks missoffee for pointing out that the link dissapeared.
In the next chapter Ahsoka and Barriss will meet. Then, in the next chapter, the battle will begin.
Until next time.