Chapter 15 – Battle

In this chapter I will use a number of views. A general 3rd person type of view to describe larger events and a first person view (either Barriss of Ahsoka). I will add a little notice when the view changes. I'm just playing around a bit with this to see if it adds something to the story or not, feedback regarding the view changes is appreciated.

Text written "like this" means people are speaking in Basic (or English).

Text written /like this/ means people are speaking in Togruti.

Text written "like this" means that it's people's thoughts.

Thanks for the pointer ahsokanerd, this makes things a little easier for me to write and hopefully for others to understand/read as well.

;-

Felucia, Separatist Base, prison cell.

Lux Bonteri looked around the prison cell. Almost a day had passed since their imprisonment. He looked at Nyla Sonter, the Twi'lek Jedi padawan that was with them. She had woken up some time ago. Right now she was resting against one of the walls of the cell. Her injuries were severe, but with the aid of the Force, she was able to cope with the pain.

Senator Bail Organa was speaking with her right now to see how she was doing. Lux was unable to hear their conversation, but it was obvious that the padawan was trying to act strong for the other captives. She was clearly in pain, both from her wounds and the fact that she had just lost her master. Lux looked up at the ceiling in thought. Ahsoka had told him about the bond between Master and Padawan. A Jedi Master and his or her Padawan did practically everything together, they even lived together. They would spend years together until the padawan was knighted. Lux sighed. Jedi traditions and rules didn't make any sense to him. They were forbidden to form attachments, but how can you not form attachments when you live together? It had really confused him. He had asked Ahsoka about it but she hadn't given him much of an answer. She hadn't said it at the time, but it was obvious that she didn't like that 'no attachments' thing either.

Senator Organa sat next to him. "Lux, I've been meaning to ask. Who was that Togruta you were talking to yesterday?" he asked. "I haven't seen her since those droids took her away." Lux sighed. "She was the princess of Shili, Zaa Vashee. Seeing as Shili is still neutral, you can probably guess why she's here…" he replied. Bail Organa nodded. "Sadly yes, I can imagine. I hope she's alright. Our 'host' is a very cruel man." Lux nodded and gestured to the Twi'lek sitting across from them. "How is she?" Bail's expression turned grim. "She doing her best to remain strong, but I'm afraid she's hurt a lot more than she shows." Bail sighed. "If she doesn't get medical treatment soon she won't make it." Lux looked down. He was about to reply when a loud explosion rocked the building. "What in the…?!" Lux exclaimed. Panic settled in the room as more blasts were heard.

"It's *cough* it's the Republic." Nyla Sonter managed to say softly between her coughs and grunts of pain.

;-

Separatist Base, isolation cell.

Zaa Vashee sat in the isolation cell, sobbing silently. The Separatist commander had stopped by early in the morning. He had once again tried to 'convince' her to tell her father to join the Separatist alliance. When she refused to talk, he had used some kind of electric staff to shock her. Zaa didn't know what is was called, but it had hurt immensely. After about thirty minutes of crying out in pain the commander and his droids had left. Now she was left alone, shaking a bit from the pain of the burns she had sustained. All that surrounded her now was darkness and silence. She couldn't see anything or hear anyone. Being a Togruta, a species that is used to being in groups and her as a princess she was always surrounded by others, this vast loneliness was frightening her. Shivers crept up and down her spine. The rattling of the chains that restrained her to the wall made the whole situation even worse.

A loud explosion resonated through the entire structure startling her. "W-what was that?" she thought as fear filled her. She could hear more blasts. "W-what is g-going on?" she asked softly, desperately hoping that someone would respond. The only response she got was a silent room and the echoing of blasts in the distance.

;-

Felucia, Separatist outer base, entrance.

Two battle droids were standing atop the main base entrance, looking out over the area with binoculars. "These trees make it impossible to see anything." One of the droids complained in its mechanical voice. A distant thundering sound was heard. "Did you hear that?" the other droid asked his counterpart. "Hey look! What's that?" the first droid asked pointing at something in the sky. "It looks like some sort of projectile." The second droid responded. The object started descending towards the two droids at a rapid pace. "uh oh…" the droids said in unison.

When the projectile struck the entire base entrance was wiped out, along with the two droids.

;-

Felucia, front of the Separatist Base area.

"Generals." Commander Bly saluted as he stood beside Masters Unduli and Secura. "All of our troops are in position. We are ready to begin the assault." Luminara and Aayla looked at each other. "Thank you Bly." Aayla replied. Luminara checked her chrono. "It is almost time to attack." She informed Aayla. The Twi'lek nodded and activated her comlink. "Artillery, prepare to open fire. Target the main entrance first, followed by the main area in front of the base. Do not, under any circumstance, target the main building. We cannot risk harming the prisoners." She informed the artillery battalion. "Understood General, preparing to fire." The captain of the artillery battalion replied.

"Dusk is upon us." Aayla said. Luminara nodded. "Let's hope that Barriss and Ahsoka can infiltrate the base without any difficulties." She replied. Aayla smiled. "As long as we can create enough of a ruckus I'm sure they will be fine." Luminara smiled as well. "That's true. Very well then, let's begin." Aayla nodded before activating her comlink. "All forces, prepare for the attack. Artillery, open fire in twenty seconds." She ordered their force. Their troopers performed one final weapons check and prepared themselves to fight. Both Luminara and Aayla drew their lightsabers.

"All is ready Generals." Bly reported. Aayla nodded. "Artillery, open fire in three, two, one. Fire!" she ordered.

The artillery cannons opened fire. The main entrance to the base was immediately destroyed. After that the droid forces started walking out of the base, ready to annihilate the intruders. Luminara ordered their troops to proceed onward and engage the droid forces. The clones moved towards the designated spots along the trees and rocks of Felucia. Using the cover from the natural environment, they opened fire at the droids.

;-

Felucia, deep forest area, several miles away from the rear end of the base.

Ahsoka's point of view.

The sound of explosions was hearable in the distance. "The assault has begun." Looking around I can see our troops waiting to strike. In a few minutes we will depart and make our way to the secret entrance I saw in my vision. The original path Barriss was going to take almost leads straight to it. Because of this, we'll have plenty of cover from Felucia's natural foliage. Nobody will be able to see us from above and even in close range the trees and bushes will shield us from sight. I can't help but smile a bit. Despite everything that happened, this is still pretty exciting.

Right now, everyone was waiting on Barriss' signal to move out. Her clone troopers were inspecting their blasters. Gaven, Aurora and Tironos were doing the same. Shaden and Cira chuckled silently at the looks some of the clones gave Tironos. He is quite an interesting sight with his dual miniguns.

"Alright everyone, move out. Stay under the cover of the trees and we'll be fine." Barriss informed us. I nod in return and gesture for my troops to follow. Barriss does the same and we all proceed along the path.

;-

Felucia, front of the Separatist Base area.

"Artillery, adjust fire. Eight points west, 12 points north, take out those tanks!" Aayla commanded the artillery through her comlink. The battle was going well, the Separatist commander had responded exactly as they had predicted. Thanks to the coordinated artillery strikes the droids barely had cover while the clone soldiers had plenty of cover thanks to the natural rock formation of the area. The droids still had their sheer numbers so they were still a threat. Nevertheless, the clone soldiers had the terrain advantage making it impossible for the droids to overwhelm them.

"The battle proceeds well." Luminara commented while spinning around, her lightsaber flashing rapidly around her, reflecting bolt after bolt from the droids. "Indeed, let's hope that it stays like this." Aayla replied as she moved similarly, her lightsaber spinning around. The two Jedi stood atop one of the rocks at the front of their army. Their location gave them a perfect overview of the situation. They could give direction and orders when needed. The clones had dug themselves in well and were raining blasterfire on the droids. They were certainly creating distraction.

;-

Felucia, deep forest area, several miles away from the rear end of the base.

Ahsoka's point of view.

The sounds of battle intensified in the distance. The sound was getting larger as we got closer to the base. We were making good time and would soon reach the cave we needed to enter.

"Hold up, I hear something." Tyrral, another of the H'Raani M'Kai and expert scout told the group. "Metallic footprints on the rocks." Everyone stopped moving and lowered to the ground. Trace, one of the clone scouts Barriss brought along took out his scanners and looked in the direction Tyrral pointed to. "Yea, he's right. There's a group of clankers over there. A scouting party, twenty of them in total." He reported. "With the large battle going on we should be able to take them out without being noticed by anyone in the base." Barriss said. She turned towards a few of her men. "You three…" she began, but Shaden interrupted her. "Hold up, leave this to us." He said. Barriss nodded a bit hesitantly. Shaden flashed her a reassuring smile. "Cira, take them out." He told the blue-skinned Togruta. She nodded and proceeded swiftly up one of the trees. I follow her movements. "I wonder how strong she really is, Shaden said he had the upmost faith in her skills."

Using the natural camouflage from the forest Cira reached the area above the droids without them noticing. She took out her snake sword and jumped down right in the middle of the droids and landed in a crouched position. I frown at her actions. "What is she up to?"

"Hey, who are you?" one of the droids asked. Cira activated her vibro sword. She trusted forward, impaling one of the droids, her blade extending to its full size. "Hey! Get h…" the droids tried to say. Cira moved fast and spun around in a circle, swinging her sword around her. It flashed like a whip and twisted around. In the blink of an eye, all that was left of the droids where a few scattered hopes of scrap metal.

"Full moon slash." Shaden commented. "Anything in range of her blade gets cut in pieces."

"Impressive." The clones murmured to each other. The group moved towards her and prepared to move on. I turned around and smiled when I notice Barriss' slightly stunned expression. Barriss smiled as well and walked up to me. "Those are some impressive warriors." I chuckle for a moment. "They're the most elite Togrutan warriors, what'd you expect?" I ask her. Barriss gave me a confused look before she chuckled as well. "Come on, let's continue. The cave is not far from here." I tell the group. I receive a small round of confirmations and we proceed onwards.

;-

A smile spreads across my face, we just found the cave. We had been able to avoid any further droids. We did had to sneak past a few rancors, but they didn't pay any attention to us fortunately.

I grab my lightsaber and activate it. With a few quick slices I cut away some bushes that were covering the entrance to the cave. "Is this the place?" one of the clone troopers asks. I nod. "Yes, this is it." I gesture at the cavern. "It's some kind of animal cavern. It's large enough for us to go through and it goes right past the cellar of the Separatist base. We can cut right in and take them by surprise." I say with a smile. Barriss smiles as well. "Alright then, let's go. The sooner we get the hostages out of that base the better." She says. Everyone nods and we proceed into the cave.

;-

"This cave sure smells funny…" One of the clones commented. "I hope that there aren't any other hungry beasts in here." Another clone commented. Dodge laughed at the clone's remark. "Don't worry, there's nothing in here. We can tell with our echolocation." He told them. "That certainly is useful." One of the explosion experts Blaster replied. They all laughed for a moment.

Barriss was walking with me along with me through the cave. Something was starting to bother me, I could sense a familiar presence. "Barriss, who are among the kidnapped Senators?" I asked her. She looked the other way, hiding her face. I grabbed her arm. "Barriss?" I said a little bit louder. Barriss sighed. "I'm sorry Ahsoka, I should've told you…" she said a bit nervously. "Lux is among the hostages." I gulped nervously. "Lux…" I think about my options. I was supposed to rescue the princess, but Lux… I can't lose him, I love him. "What do I do?"

I turn towards Barriss. "Barriss, promise me that you'll get everyone, including Lux, out of there safely." Barriss looked a bit surprised at first, but nodded. "I promise Ahsoka." She replied. "I'll rescue your boyfriend." She said with a cheeky smile. I scoffed at her cheeky remark. "Why you…" I say as I playfully punch her arm. I smile. "I trust you Barriss." I tell her. She smiles. "Thank you Ahsoka."

We continue walking through the cavern. It's not an easy decision for me to make, but I know I can trust Barriss with this.

;-

After a few minutes of walking I spotted something different in the cave's wall. I run up to the wall and examine it. "Metal… this is it!" I smile, we have reached our destination. I can now clearly make out the steel wall of the basement of the base. "This is it." I tell the group. "The basement of the base is here." I gesture at the wall. "Once we cut through here we'll be in the base." Barriss moves next to me. "Alright when we're inside, everyone stick to the plan." She tells us. "My troops and I will go and rescue the Senators. Ahsoka, you, Shaden and Cira will recue the princess of Shili. Do you know where she is?" I nod. "Yes, I can sense her presence. She's not in the same cell as the Senators, but I know where she is." I answer Barriss. She nods. "Good. While we locate the hostages, the rest of Ahsoka's team will split up in teams of four and five to sabotage the base and find the belongings of the captives. After that we will evacuate everyone through this cave and proceed to the primary evac point." Barriss repeated our mission plan. Everyone nodded understandingly. "We know what to do Commander, we're ready." Shaden replied. "Let's do this." He said with a smile. Barriss nods and turns to me. "Ahsoka, if you would be so kind?" she asks as she gestures at the metal wall. I nod and smile. Turning to the wall, I grab my lightsaber and ignite it. The green glow welcoming in the dark cave. I trust my blade in the wall and carve out a nice chunk of it. I use the Force to move the block silently out of the way and lay it down on the cave's floor. "This seems a bit familiar, doesn't it Barriss?" I ask her, thinking back to Geonosis. She smiles. "It does… Let's just hope that this doesn't end up with us being trapped inside a tank underneath a large pile of rubble." She says sarcastically. We both chuckle for a moment. "Heh, you gotta tell me that story on the way back Ahsoka." Shaden says. "Alright I will, but first…" I reply and gesture inside the basement.

We all move inside and ready our weapons. We make our way upstairs and two clones, Longshot and Shrap, check the hall. "All clear, let's move out." They signal back. Everyone moves upstairs and we split in the designated teams to complete our objectives.

;-

Shaden, Cira and I, along with Barriss and her troops, were making our way through the base. The map data they had obtained from previous battles proved accurate and because of that we had quickly made our way through the hallways. With the distraction Masters Unduli and Secura were creating the amount of droids we encountered in the base was at a minimum. Those few unlucky droids we did see quickly met their end at Shaden's large vibro battle-axe. He hadn't exaggerated one bit, his strength and speed are impressive, being able to swing such a large heavy weapon and still move like that.

"The main prison area is this way." Longshot informs us. Barriss nods. "Alright, Ahsoka, which way is the princess?" I close my eyes and concentrate on the Force. I extend my feelings through the halls. I can sense her not far away. "She's this way." I say and gesture at another passage. "The isolation cells are that way." Longshot replies. I nod. "We'll get her and meet you at the rendezvous point." Barriss nods in return. "Okay, may the Force be with you." I smile. "And with you." I reply before taking off with Shaden and Cira towards the isolation cells.

;-

Separatist base, command center.

"Commander, we have unidentified movement in the prison area." A droid reported to the Separatist commander in charge of the base. "What?" he replied confused. "Contact one of the security droids immediately!" The droids looked at each other. "We've tried that sir, but there's no response." One of the droids responded. The commander rubbed his head in confusion and irritation. Then realization set in. "Those damn Jedi…" he said. "I'll teach you to mess with me." He turned to his command desk and entered a series of codes. An evil grin spread across his face when he was finished.

;-

Separatist base, isolation area.

Ahsoka's point of view.

As we made our way through the hall I can still hear the sounds of the outside battle echoing through the base. Luckily, there aren't any droids around so we don't have to worry about getting shot for the moment. "Where is she?" Shaden asked impatiently. I can sense that he's not angry or anything, he's just worried. "Don't worry, she's close." I reply. "This way!" I tell them. We move further. I can sense her presence close by. I stop in front of one of the cells. "She's here." I turn to my fellow Togruta. "Shaden, CIra, watch the halls." They both nod and run towards the different ends of the hallway to keep watch from droids.

I open the cell door. It is completely dark inside. The light coming from the door illuminates a part of the small, dirty cell. I can see a female Togrutan teen, about my age, sitting in the cell. She's chained to the wall and her dress is tattered. A fearful expression spreads on her face as she sees me standing in the door opening, the light coming in the room probably covering me in shadows from her point of view. /W-who are you?/ she asked in a frightened tone. /My name is Ahsoka, I'm here to rescue you./ I reply, crouching down so she can see my face. She still looks a bit hesitant to believe me. /I'm here at your father's request. Shaden and several other H'Raani M'Kai warriors are with me./ I continue. I can see her face flood with relief. I smile. /Hold still a moment./ I tell her and stand up. She looks little confused. /Just hold still, I'm going to remove those chains./ I reassure her. Activating my lightsaber, I cut the chains loose in a few swift motions. The look of surprise on her face would have been funny if we weren't in this situation. /A-a Jedi? Did dad ask the Republic for help?/ she asks. /Uhm… Not really, it's a long story and now not really the time./ I reply. She nods. /Are you alright, can you walk?/ I ask, checking her quickly for wounds. I can see that she has several burn marks. "Separatist scum." She stands up a little wobbly. /I-I'm okay. I can walk./ Her voice is shaking a bit. /My name is Zaa Vashee. Who are you?/ she asks. /Ahsoka Tano, nice to meet you mylady./ I reply. Confusion fills her face again. /Tano?/ I nod. /That's right, I'm the youngest of the three sisters. But further explanations will come later. Right now, we need to get out of here./ I say. She nods and we both exit the cell.

Shaden and Cira come back to us. /Mylady, are you alright?/ Shaden asks almost immediately. /Yes, I'll be fine. Let's just get out of here./ She replies. Shaden nods. /Come on, let's head to the rendezvous point./ I tell them. They nod and we begin to escort the princess to the rendezvous point, Shira and I take the lead while Shaden covers our rear.

"Ahsoka, Commander Offee, do you hear me?" Aurora's voice comes through the comlink. "Yes Aurora, I hear you." I reply. "Loud and clear." Barriss' voice says over the intercom. "We just entered the command bridge, but it's abandoned. The Separatist leader must have found out we were here. He activated the self-destruct system! This base will self-destruct in little over seven minutes!" she informs us. "Oh no!" "Understood, let's get out of here!" I say through the comlink. "We won't make it back through the cave in time! We need another way out!." Barriss replies. "There is an back-exit a few corridors away from the command room. It's our best bet. We'll go ahead and secure the area." Aurora replies. "Copy that, everyone move!" Barriss says as she ends the transmission. "Time to move!" I tell my small group. Shaden nods and contacts Dodge, who was leading the team that located the possessions of the prisoners. /Dodge, did you get that transmission?/ he asks. /Yes, I got it. We have everything and are close to the exit. We'll assist them in securing the area./ Dodge replies. /Alright, we'll be there shortly./ Shaden says and ends the transmission.

;-

As we exit the isolation area we run into Barriss' group. "Hey Barriss, guess we've worn out our welcome." I say sarcastically. "Got that right." She replies. I can suddenly hear the sound of metal footprints echoing in my montrals. "Shaden, Cira, incoming droids!" Shaden nodded. "Understood, we'll deal with them!" he turns to Cira and she nods. The two activate their weapons and dash into the corridor ahead. A couple of seconds later we can hear some roars and what sounds like metal being ripped into pieces. "All clear, let's go!" Shaden's voice comes over the comlink. I look at Barriss and nod. She nods back and we all continue making our way to the exit.

When we turn the corridor we can see Shaden and Cira waiting at the end of the hall. A whole load of shattered droids littering the floor. Barriss and I use the Force to shove the remains out of the way.

"Master Unduli, do you read me?" Barriss activates her comlink to warn her Master. "Barriss what's wrong?" Luminara's voice responds. "Master, listen. The Separatists have activated the self-destruct system. This place is gonna blow in about five minutes. Primary evac point is comprised. We are going to escape from the base and find a new safe extraction point." Barriss quickly explains the situation. "Understood Barriss, be cautious." Luminara replies as she deactivates the transmission.

"What is going on?" All of a sudden I have a strange sense of ill foreboding, like something bad is going to happen. "This won't be good…"

;-

Outside the Separatist base

"Understood Barriss, be cautious." Luminara says in her comlink. "Luminara, what's wrong?" Aayla Secura asks as she moves up to Luminara. "The base is going to self-destruct." She replied. Aayla briefly looks shocked but regains her composure immediately. "Attention all troopers, fall back from the base! Self-destruct is imminent! Fall back!" she orders to all troopers over the comlink. A round of confirmations were heard and the captains of the squads began to order their troops back.

;-

Separatist base, halls.

Ahsoka's point of view.

We continue onwards through the hallways of the base. Shaden, Cira and I took the lead while Barriss and the troops cover the Senators and their staff. Thanks to our echolocation we had a better sense of the areas ahead. There had been a couple more groups of droids in our way. This had delayed us a little bit. "Obviously the commander doesn't want us to leave here alive…" Between the three us the droids had quickly met their ends, but we didn't have much time to spare.

"Base self-destruct in three minutes." The base's intercom system warned. "Barriss, pick up the pace! We're running out of time!" I quickly say over the comlink. "Got it!" she replies. We wait for a moment to let them catch up to us. They catch up quickly and we all continue. The feeling of dread I sensed earlier is growing stronger. I don't like this one bit…

After about another minute we were about to reach the exit where we were supposed to meet up with Aurora and the other H'Raani M'Kai warriors. We arrived in a form of hangar, the exit is right in front of us. A sharp warning shoots through the Force. "Everyone, move!" I yell. "Get to cover!" Barriss adds as we both draw our lightsabers. It's not a moment too soon either because the next moment a large group of droids appear and start blasting us. Barriss and I deflect the bolts away from the Senators while Shaden, Cira and the clones direct everyone to cover. "We don't have time for this!" I tell Barriss. "I'm open to suggestions." she replied. The clones open fire on the droids, red and blue lasers flying around the room.

Suddenly a large barrage of bolts hammered down on the droids from their flank. With the combined fire from both sides they were quickly reduced to rubble. Looking over, I can see Tironos and Aurora entering the room, their weapons smoking. "Come on! This way!" Aurora yells as she and Tironos run to the door and open it. "Alright, everyone out! We don't have much time to spare!" Barriss orders. The clones quickly escort the Senators out the base. Shaden and Cira lead Zaa Vashee out right behind them.

We enter the small courtyard behind the base and make our way towards the outer wall. The place is littered with destroyed droids and the doors are completely open. The rest of the H'Raani M'Kai is waiting at the exit. "Everyone, move quickly! We're almost out of time!" Shaden yells. He and the other Togruta, the clones and Barriss lead the Senators and their staff out of the base. As I pass the metal walls I stop in the opening of the door. The feeling of dread is stronger than ever. I use the Force and can sense the explosion starting.

I look at the group in front of me. Everyone is still trying to escape, but our time is up. "This is bad, really bad…What do I do…" I can see everyone. Barriss, my best friend. Lux, the ,man I love. Shaden and my other new friends. I can't lose any of them. I reach into the Force to try and find a way out of this. A solution comes to me, but it's not a pretty one. I look at my friends and make a decision.

I can see Barriss turn to face me. "Ahsoka! What are you doing?!" she yells at me. I don't give a reply, instead I focus the Force. With a powerful Force push I blast everyone in the nearby trenches that surround the base. I turn back towards the base and concentrate on forming a defensive shield with the Force to protect everyone from the explosion. Focusing all of the energy I possibly can, I prepare for the blast. I don't have to wait long. A wailing siren sounds just before the entire base explodes. A large wall of fire quickly approaches me. It collides with the Force wall I made. I can feel the heat of the blast mere inches away from me, trying to break through my barrier. I can sense a powerful energy inside of me, similar to the energy I felt while meditating on Onderon. My barrier is holding. "Will this work?" A second large explosion answers my question. Another large blast of fire speeds towards me. The combined power of both blasts break through my barrier. The heat of the blazing fire surrounds me and I can feel myself being swept off my feet. The force of the blast knocks me quite a distance away. I fly through multiple branches and whatnot before slamming hard onto the rocky ground.

Everything is blurry. I can see vague forms and colours swirling around. I can't feel anything, my senses have almost completely shut down. There are shapes moving around and different sounds, too blurry to make out. Everything spins and fades.

Then all that remains is darkness.

;-

Yes, I know, a cliffhanger. Sorry, but I didn't have another way to end this chapter.

Describing a large scale battle isn't very easy, hope it's not too bad. I focused more on the infiltration and rescue.

Let me know what you think about the different views. If it's better to read I may add more things like that in future chapters. I'm not really sure about it though so I'd like to know the opinion of others.

I'm going to try to update soon, I already have the largest part of the following chapters in my head. Now I just have to work it out.

Until next time.