Chapter 92: Citadel Rescue

Without honor, victory is hollow.

Recap: Trapped behind enemy lines! Carrying secret information vital to the Republic's war effort, Jedi Master Even Piell and Captain Tarkin were taken prisoner by the Separatists. An elite strike team led by Obi-Wan Kenobi, Storm, and Anakin Skywalker, landed on the planet Lola Sayu and infiltrated the prison. The team rescued Master Piell and Tarkin, but they were pursued by the prison's evil commandant Osi Sobeck. During the escape, their ship was destroyed. Now we find them on the run, desperate to escape the trap that is the Citadel.

Our heroes were still walking the caves as droids closed in on them. They hopped over some lava pools as they came to a small clearing.

"We're clear!" shouted Rex to the Jedi as he scouted ahead with Sark and saw no sign of their enemies.

"What's our next move?" asked Ahsoka as the six Jedi gathered to discuss in a circle.

"We're going to have to fight our way off this rock," said Anakin.

"Contact the Council. See when they plan to rescue us," stated Obi-wan.

"I'll handle it," said Master Piell as R2 stood in front of him and made contact with the Jedi Council on Coruscant as the image of Windu appeared.

"Master Piell, it's good to see you alive, my friend," said Windu.

"Likewise, Master Windu. Our escape route has been compromised, and there are several squads of droids closing in on us," said the short Jedi Master.

"When can we expect your arrival?" asked Anakin, and he and Storm came into view.

"Master Plo, Celestia, and Luna are already en route," stated Windu as the three Jedi Masters led the rescue mission.

"Gunships will arrive to evacuate you and your men, but do not delay. Only a small window of opportunity shall we have. Your rendezvous point will be this island." said Yoda as he appeared before he showed the image of the mountain, and in the center was an island surrounded by lava.

"Understood," said Master Piell.

"May the Force be with you," stated Windu.

"Always," answered Storm as the transmission ended.

The group was now preparing to deal with the droids closing in. Storm saw Twilight as she was working on her droid. The princess was doing some maintenance checks on TS-01. She accessed the droid's memory banks as she saw that it did its main function and absorbed and scanned everything it saw inside the fortress.

"Am I interrupting anything?" said Storm.

Twilight looked at the boy who loomed over her.

"No," smiled Twilight.

Storm smiled as he sat down next to the girl and leaned back.

"How are you holding up?" asked the boy.

"Tired, nervous, but really. I'm scared."

"Well, you're not the only one," said Storm as Twilight looked at him.

"You think... we'll get out of here alive? What if... our masters don't come for us? What if... they never get to see us again?" said the princess as she was voicing her concerns and fears.

Storm couldn't blame Twilight for saying that. After all, they were on a suicide mission and had just lost a valuable member in Echo. They had already lost so many men just for this one mission alone; who to say that the next person to fall could be Anakin, Ahsoka, or even... one of them. That thought alone would frighten anybody, regardless of how tough you were.

The boy looked down to see Twilight's hands tremble; he reached over to grab one of them, and it got the girl to notice. The boy intertwined his fingers with Twilight's as he put his other arm around the princess' shoulders and pulled her in. Twilight felt the warmth and comfort of the Jedi Knight's presence as she leaned into him and placed her head on his shoulder.

The pair said nothing as they just sat there in silence. They closed their eyes as they tried to calm their minds and not worry about anything else but to enjoy being in the other's presence. It made them both smile as they opened their eyes and looked at each other with their faces close to one another.

"No matter what happens. I'm glad I got to meet you, Storm."

"Same here, Sparky. And I meant what I said when we were trapped with Sunset in that cave. I can't just sit back and watch someone die. I'd rather die alongside them than do nothing. Especially if that someone is a girl like you." stated the boy.

"And my response stays the same. You're an idiot. And you're the only person who'd think like that." said Twilight as she gazed into Storm's eyes.

The boy removed his hand from hers and brought it up to stroke her cheek. Twilight lifted her hand to cusp Storm's left side. The pair continued to look at one another as Twilight moved her hand to boop Storm on the nose ever so gently. The boy rested his palm across her face with his thumb rubbing her lips. Her tongue darted around a little, flicking at his digit.

While this was happening, Twilight's droid scanned them silently as it had new data to add to its memory banks. Soon the droid began to tug at Twilight's shirt as it was telling her of the incoming danger it sensed. The pair stood up as they, too, sensed it and prepared to fight.

Commando droids were shown running through the cave as they spotted our heroes. They fired some shots, which got the attention of the clones as they looked in that direction and fired.

"Incoming!" shouted Cody to all.

They shot one of the droids who fell into the lava. Fives pulled out a bomb as he, threw it, quickly scrambled to run, and barely jumped over the lava pool as the explosion was so close to him. He almost fell into the lava as the droids were taken out.

"We're not trying to lose you too, Fives," said Claude as he and Rex helped him.

"No doubt there's more on the way," said Obi-wan as the Jedi turned off their lightsabers. They all began to move as they were headed toward where their allies would pick them up.


Sobeck met with Count Dooku inside the Citadel as the Sith Lord had been trying to reach him.

"Count Dooku, my Lord."

"Commander Sobeck, you've been avoiding my transmissions," said the Sith Lord.

"My deepest respect. I was hoping to surprise you with good news," replied the warden.

"Good news would indeed be a surprise. Have the prisoners been captured?" asked Dooku.

"Not yet, My Lord. But we've located their position, and my droids are moving in now," said Sobeck.

"I need not remind you that the prisoners are carrying secret hyperspace coordinates into the core systems of the Republic and our Separatist home worlds. This information will allow us to launch a surprise attack on Coruscant, striking a crippling blow to the Republic and the Jedi," stated the Sith Lord.

"Yes, My Lord. I will see to it that they are soon back in our possession," stated Sobeck.

"You should know, Commander, right now, your honesty is the only thing keeping you alive," threatened Dooku as Sunset appeared. She turned on her lightsaber, frightening the warden as the transmission ended.

As they reached the lake, the group made it out of the cave systems. Soon a crab droid was shown coming over the mountainside as Rex began to fire at it. Behind them were even more droids as they were trying to pincher our heroes.

"They're boxing us in!" said Ahsoka.

"Lock in your cables!" shouted Anakin as he, Obi-wan, and Storm fired a grappling hook embedded into the ground in front of them. "R2, we need your droids to hold off the enemy as long as possible."

R2 gave a beep to the Jedi Knight.

"Good. Everybody, follow me!" instructed Anakin.

"This is sheer madness!" said Captain Tarkin as he got on Anakin's back, and they began to walk down the cliff carrying some men.

While they were getting the men to safety, the girls and the clones formed a defensive line as they bought their comrades some time. R2 approached the three reprogrammed droids as he told them their orders.

"We understand, sir. We will delay the enemy as long as possible. Prepare for attack." said one of the droids to the others before turning back to look at R2 and Twilight's droid. "It was an honor to serve under you, sirs."

R2 let out a beep as the two droids turned to leave. R2 leaped over the edge as Twilight's droid jumped onto his head and held on as the blue astromech turned on his rocket thrusters.

"Keep moving!" shouted Obi-wan as they carried the last of the men with their clones and the girls joining them in repelling down the cliff.

Up above, the droids managed to take out the reprogrammed droids. One of the commando droids shot at one of the grappling hooks into the ground as it snapped, and the clone and one of the men that were attached fell all the way down to the ground as they screamed. The others saw this as they reached the floor and saw their comrades laid out, not moving. R2 had made it as Twilight's droid was sitting on its shiny head.

"Keep moving! Keep moving!" shouted Storm to the men as they looked up to see the commando droids firing at them from the top of the cliff.

The girls and men ran along the shore's line and into a hole. They jumped down the hole, which led to a set of gulleys. Obi-wan, Anakin, and Storm had their lightsabers out, protecting their allies as they all got into the hole. Once they were clear, they all turned tailed toward the hole and jumped in.

In hyperspace, Master Plo, accompanied by Celestia and Luna, was relaying the info to Jedi Masters Kit Fisto, Adi Gallia, and Saesee Tiin as they were all helping in the rescue mission.

"Master Tiin, you should be leading the fighter attack," stated Celestia.

"Once you punch a hole through their defenses, we will lead the gunships down to the surface and extract the team," said Master Plo.

"Depending on the size of their force, I don't know how much time we can buy you," said Master Tiin with some concern.

"You will do your best, I'm sure," said Master Plo, as he had faith in his comrade.

"If the team isn't at the extraction point when you arrive, you may be forced to leave them or put us all at risk," stated Gallia.

"I'm afraid Master Gallia is right," responded Master Tiin.

"Don't worry. They'll be there," said Luna, as she had full faith that her student and his friends would reach their destination.


Back at the Citadel, Sobeck was starting to lose his patience. He heard about what happened with the droids he sent out as they managed to let the Jedi and their forces slip through their grasp.

"The prisoners have evaded us long enough. Bring out the anoobas! Use them for tracking only!" shouted the warden to a droid.

A droid approached a set of cages as they were shaking about. Some ferocious sounds could be heard as the droid pushed a button on the cage. The doors opened up, and out came two animals named anoobas. They were vicious quadrupeds with a lower jaw, sharp teeth, a long tail, and thick patches of fur across their spines.

The other cages so opened as even more anoobas appeared. They sniffed at the droids as they didn't appease them. Soon they took off as they hopped the fence and tracked our heroes down.

"Contact me as soon as the fugitives have been located!" said Sobeck.

"Roger, roger."

Our heroes were still moving. They had exited the gulleys and were walking along the lakeside that was full of lava. They quickly took cover behind rocks as a squad of droids flew overhead. Once they passed by, Obi-wan gave the signal as they kept moving.

"What if your Jedi friends are not there when we arrive?" asked Captain Tarkin.

"Can this guy just shut the hell up for five minutes?!" muttered Storm as Twilight noticed her partner's scowl. She secretly put her hand in his as it seemed to calm the boy down.

"Keep moving, and you won't have to worry about that, Tarkin," said Master Piell to his captain.

It seemed Storm wasn't the only one who didn't like Tarkin's attitude, as even Ahsoka found it annoying based on how she rolled her eyes.

"Why did Master Piell have to share half of the intel with that guy? It's like he's not even grateful we rescued him," said Ahsoka to her teacher.

"Captain Tarkin feels the Jedi should be... relieved from the burden of leading the war effort," said Anakin.

"That's ridiculous," stated Twilight as even she didn't like that idealogy.

"Maybe, but we aren't soldiers. We're peacekeepers. The Jedi code often prevents us from going far enough to achieve victory." said Anakin.

"A rather simple point of view," countered Obi-wan as he was thinking critically about that while also looking at his student.

"Either way, he is a good captain," said Anakin.

"Yeah, and a bigger asshole," said Storm as Twilight giggled.

As they kept walking, a sound was heard as the Jedi sensed it.

"Did you hear that?" said Ahsoka.

"Yes. We're going to have company," stated Master Piell as the Jedi sensed the looming danger coming at them.

In the space above Lola Sayu, the Separatist blockade was shown. A fleet of droid ships was shown flying toward the command center ship as Sobeck's tactical droid was on it.

"Commander, the additional reinforcements have arrived," stated the tactical droid.

"Tighten your grip, K2-B4. The Republic will almost certainly attempt a second mission to infiltrate our defenses and rescue the prisoners. I'm counting on you to ensure that nothing slips past our blockade." said Sobeck as the transmission ended. The droid looked out the window as he prepared for whatever was coming at them.


Back on the surface, our heroes were still moving as they were hoping to put some distance between them and the anoobas tracking them.

"You know, it's not wise to argue with Master Piell. It's certainly not a good career move," stated Anakin to Captain Tarkin as they walked.

"General Skywalker, I stand by my principles. No matter what. Besides, I needn't worry about my career. I've fallen in favor with the Chancellor. He shall support me." stated Captain Tarkin.

"I happen to know the Chancellor quite well, myself," smiled Anakin.

"Oh... Really?" said Captain Tarkin as he seemed to like that fact.

"Really," smiled Anakin.

"Don't get any ideas," said Storm as he glared at Anakin. Little did they know that their friendship was slowly deteriorating.

"Let's keep moving!" shouted Obi-wan as he was looking to prevent his pals from arguing with one another. "If we're not at the rendezvous at the exact time, we'll miss our window."

As they were walking, Fives heard a sound as he turned around.

"Those creatures are gaining," said Fives.

"If they've caught our scent, they'll lead the droids right to us," said Master Piell.

"We're gonna have to deal with them," said Anakin.

"What about using this cave to surprise them?" suggested Ahsoka as she pointed.

"If we can get them to pass by, we can attack them from behind. But we need a distraction," said Master Pielll.

"Leave that to us. And Obi-Wan, of course," stated Storm as the trio looked to do what they did best.

"Okay, the rest of you, follow me," said Master Piell.

"Be careful," whispered Twilight to the boy as she walked by.

The group then split into two, with R2 going with the trio to prepare for the ambush. The anoobas were running and jumping along the trail. They were tracking the scent of our heroes as following them from above were some commando droids on speeders. They ran past the cave that Master Piell, the girls, and the clones hid in. Once the Jedi Master saw the coast was clear, they began to move and follow the creatures.

The trio of Jedi and R2 were walking through some fog. The animals were also running as they closed in on their prey. The trio stopped to turn as they sensed the incoming danger. A howl was heard as they all turned on their lightsabers. Each took a defensive stance as R2 was beeping like he was scared. Emerging from the fog were the anoobas as they rushed at the Jedi. One of them ran up a hill and lunged at Obi-wan, to which the Jedi Master roundhouse kicked it away.

Another one was coming at the Jedi Master as he raised his blade above his head and slashed it down at the animal to kill it. A few went for Anakin as the Jedi Knight used his hand to fling them to the side. He then ran as he spun and stabbed his blade at a nearby one that tried to attack him. As for Storm, the boy threw his blade, and it spun and slashed at the animals. One of them leaped over his blade as it was heading for the boy with its fangs out. The teen charged as the animal leaped into the air.

Everything moved in slow motion as the anooba was about to sink its jaws into the boy's face. Storm did a slide as he thrust his hand up, as sparkles began to form. Soon a sound was heard as it showed the animal being stabbed with the boy's lightsaber as he made it materialize at will. The fangs were inches from his face as he tossed the creature to the ground.

Soon the droids appeared as they began to fire at the Jedi from their speeders. Anakin blocked their shots as he ducked an anooba, trying to go for a sneak attack. With the others they were still making their way to the others when crab droids were shown crawling up the cliff. They appeared and began to shoot as it took out some clones and men. Master Piell quickly turned on his blade as he sliced the legs off, and stabbed the droid in the eye. While he was stabbing, more crab droids appeared and walked by him.

"Keep going! The girls and I will take care of the droids," stated Master Piell to the men.

The three clone commanders began to lead the remaining men to safety as the droids surrounded the girls and Jedi Master. Twilight's droid hopped onto Twilight's back as the girl was now wearing her droid like a little backpack as she would be watching her back. With the others, they were blocking all the shots from the speeders as the droids kept shooting at them. The clones were shown walking through the fog as they took position near a hill. They began to provide support for their Jedi allies as they aimed at the speeders in an attempt to blow them up. One of the speeders was firing at Anakin; the Jedi Knight did three backflips in a row nonstop as he deflected the blasts and landed safely. He was saved due to Rex shooting at the droid, which crashed into the ground behind the Jedi.

However, an anooba appeared and tackled the Jedi off his hill. They tumbled as Anakin's lightsaber fell out of his hand. The creature lunged at Anakin, who raised his robot arm to block the creature as it was held by the chin. The Jedi Knight used his other hand to pull his weapon toward him as he turned it on and stabbed it through the animal's throat before flinging it off.

The other speeders began to pick their targets as they fired. One aimed at Captain Tarkin, who was pushed out of the way by one of the captured men as he shot. He then aimed his blaster at the droid's speeder, which crashed to the ground and was trapped under his transport. He landed near R2 as the small blue astromech looked at him. The blue droid beeped evilly as he pulled out his taser and shocked the droid offline.

With Storm and Obi-wan, the pair ran up a mound and leaped into the air as they made a cross attack to two passing speeders and took out the droids. The Jedi Master quickly jumped to another speeder behind the one they sliced as he stood behind the droid. Without hesitation, he stabbed his lightsaber into the droid as their speeder was heading down. He jumped off at the last second as it crashed, creating an explosion behind him. Using the smoke as a cover, an anooba was charging at the Jedi Master. Obi-wan sensed it as he turned to lie on his back and used his legs to launch the animal over his head. The creature fell over the edge heading toward the lava below. Before reaching the molten liquid, it burned up due to the immense heat as it landed in the pool.

The girls and Master Piell were in a circle covering each other's backs. They were deflecting the shots from the droids as they swung their lightsabers. Master Piell flipped forward as he avoided a barrage of fire from the droid and leaped to the side. He lunged forward and began to drive his lightsaber straight into the droid's face. He then cut through with his lightsaber as the droid split into two and was dissected.

Ahsoka was blocking the crab droid she was dealing with as she used her lightsabers. She then spun into the air and landed on the droid's head. She stabbed her main lightsaber into the droid's face while the other stabbed into the side to ensure it died. Twilight zipped by quickly as she cut the front legs off the crab droid she was fighting. The girl then stabbed her blade forward and kept pulling it in and out as the droid let out beeps, with the princess cutting its face off clean as it fell.

Master Piell was dealing with the last crab droid as he hopped over its shots with his short size. He was unaware of an anooba that saw him as it growled and lunged. The Jedi Master saw it at the last second as he tossed off the droid with the creature having him in his jaws. He pinned the Jedi down as it tried to bite at him, to which he moved his head out of the way. The creature then sank its jaws into his robes as he tossed him to the ground.

"Master Piell!" said Ahsoka as the girls saw the Jedi Master in danger.

They flipped over to where he was and landed in front of the animal as Ahsoka put her hand out to send the creature over the edge and into the lava. She then turned to look at Twilight as the girl held the small Jedi Master in her arms. Her droid hopped off her back and began scanning the Jedi Master's body to monitor his vitals. The princess had her hand glowing as she was covering up a wound. When the anooba had Master Piell in his jaws, the tusk on its lower jaw fatally wounded the Jedi Master. Twilight tried her hardest to use her magic and Force healing powers to patch up the wound, but it didn't seem to work.

"It's no good... the wound is too deep. It refuses to mend," said Twilight.

"Vital signs, dropping," spoke Twilight's droid as she scanned Master Piell's body and could see his life force slowly disappearing.

"I have to get help," said Ahsoka as she looked to get up.

"No. Don't leave. Listen to me carefully, child. The information, I need you to deliver it back to the Council." said Master Piell as he struggled to breathe while clutching the Padawan's arm.

"I should find Anakin or Obi-Wan. They need to hear this," said Ahsoka.

"No. You must listen," said Master Piell.

"But I wasn't assigned to the team. I lied just so I could be a part of the mission," confessed Ahsoka.

"Whether you were meant to be on this mission or not, you are now the most important part of it. Remember this. And see to it that the information I'm about to give you and your friend must be revealed to no one but the Jedi Council." stated Master Piell as he pulled Ahsoka in and whispered into her ear.

He then did the same to the princess. Once he finished speaking, he took one final breath and closed his one good eye. The girls looked at the Jedi Master as they each placed a hand on his forehead and had some sad expressions.


"Sir! The anoobas have located the fugitives along the northern shore," said a droid as he informed Sobeck.

"Squad, come with me! I will deal with this personally!" said the warden to a group of commando droids on speeders. He got on one himself and began to lead the squad to where our heroes were.

With our heroes, the clones managed to shoot down the last droids chasing them as they crashed into the ground.

"So much for the hunting party," said Cody.

"There are more squads on their way," stated Captain Tarkin as he knew the droids were still coming.

On a hill, Obi-wan turned as he saw some figures emerging from the fog.

"Oh, no," said the Jedi Master at what he saw.

Emerging were the girls as Ahsoka was carrying Master Piell's body on her shoulder. The rest of them all rushed to the girls approaching them. The clones stood to the side as they saw the Padawan carrying the Jedi Master as she handed it to Anakin. The Jedi Knight laid the Jedi Master on the ground as they lost another member of their squad, and it was a major blow.

"He died honorably," said Ahsoka.

Twilight approached Storm as the boy could see the girl's sadness; her droid jumped off her back to allow the boy to comfort the girl. Without hesitation, he opened his arms as the princess fell into them. The boy hugged the girl as Twilight did the same with her head resting on her shoulder.

"We tried. But there was nothing we could do," spoke Twilight softly while sniffing a bit.

"I know. It's okay, Twilight. It's okay." said the boy softly as he rubbed the princess' back to calm her.

The others all had sad expressions and looked at their fallen comrade.

"What about the information?" asked Anakin to his Padawan.

"I have it. He told me just before he died," said Ahsoka.

The group was now standing on the edge of the cliff Obi-wan stood when he saw the girls. In front of them was Master Piell as he was wrapped up. They were preparing to give the Jedi Master a final farewell.

"We don't have much time. Let's take this moment to honor him. Then we must move on. He would have wanted us to complete our mission." said Obi-wan.

He, Anakin, and Storm all put their hands out. They began to lift the body up into the air and guided it over the cliff and into the lava below. The body began to catch fire as it flickered with flames and flowed down the river. Everyone saw the corpse flowing away in flames as it fell over the waterfall of blazing hot magma and disappeared.


In space, several cruisers had emerged from hyperspace. They saw the Separatist blockade before them as they prepared to engage. The cruisers opened their hangers, and several fighters came as they headed toward the enemy.

"Just hold on, Storm. I'm coming," said Luna as she hopped into her fighter and prepared to escort the gunship that Master Plo was on.

"Please stay strong, Twilight," voiced Celestia as both sisters were determined to save their students. The Jedi Master got in her fighter as it took off and joined her sister in escorting Master Plo's ship to the surface.

"There have not been battles like these since the days of the Old Republic," said Master Tiin.

"Indeed. Good hunting," said Master Plo as they stood behind the Jedi Master so that he could clear the path for them to head down to the surface.

The battle in space had now begun. Down on the planet's surface, our heroes were making the last bit of their journey. The island was shown the group was a few meters away and closing in; among the starting forces when the group started. Only Sark and his men, Rex and Fives, and Cody were the only clones left.

"There's the extraction point," said Obi-wan.

Anakin and Cody all stepped forward as they held grappling hooks. They shot them forward as they embedded into one of the rocks. The Jedi and clone began to spider crawl along the line as they slowly made their way to the island. The group soon encountered trouble as the first few made it to the island.

"Incoming!" said Rex as he pointed to the sky.

"Look what I found!" said Sobeck as he was shown approaching our heroes with his squad of droids on their speeders.

In space, the battle was fierce. A field of red and blue lasers was shown as some of the droids were shot and crashed into a Republic cruiser; it exploded and began to go down.

"They are too many droid fighters. We need more time to break through the blockade," stated Master Tiin as so many droids were coming at them.

"We're out of time, Master Tiin. We must break through now!" stated Master Plo as they needed to pick up their comrades.

"Very well. Wing commanders form up. We're going in." said Master Tiin as he had his forces gather for one quick push.

Master Tiin and his squad fired at the droids coming in as Master Plo's gunship was accompanied by Celestia and Luna's respective fighters behind them. They fired as the line of droids in front of them exploded, and the trio broke through as they headed down to the planet's surface.

With our heroes, they had all made it to the island as the clones were firing at the speeders that were circling them. The Jedi had their lightsabers out as Twilight switched her small droid to assault mode and began firing at the enemy. Storm, Anakin, and Obi-wan jumped as they caught one of the speeders passing by. They each stabbed the droid operating it as they hijacked the transport. R2 pulled out a pipe as he began to hover in the air. The pipe began to let out smoke as he created a cloud in front of Sobeck that couldn't see.

That momentary distraction allowed Fives to get a clear shot as he fired his blaster at the speeder, which crashed into the ground. The trio had taken care of the droids on the speeders as they jumped off and crashed into the ground. The warden was on the ground as Captain Tarkin had his blaster aimed at him. He fired as Sobeck moved and grabbed Tarkin.

"Captain!" shouted Ahsoka as she rushed to help him.

"If I can't have the information, it will die with you!" stated Sobeck as he had Tarkin and lifted him above the edge of the lava. The warden was about to drop him when Ahsoka ran her lightsaber through him as he slumped to the floor and released his hold.

"My thanks, Padawan Tano," sighed Tarkin to Ahsoka before he addressed Anakin. "I see you've trained her well."

"The rescue ship should be here by now," said Obi-wan.

"So should the rest of the Separatist army!" said Anakin.

At that moment, a gunship emerged from the nearby smoke. Everyone looked up as there was Master Plo as the doors opened.

"I believe you've worn out your welcome," said Master Plo to the group.

Crab droids now appeared as they began to surround the group. The Jedi pulled out their lightsabers as they began to provide some cover for the clones and Tarkin to get on. Once they were cleared, they all jumped on as the ship began to take off.

"Admiral Coburn, we have the survivors. Recall all fighters," said Master Plo.

"Yes, General. Prepare to jump to lightspeed."

The gunship was now exiting the planet's surface as they were looking to make it back. Celestia and Luna began to zoom ahead as they began to open fire on droid fighters that were in their way as they cleared the path for Master Plo's gunship to get back to the cruisers. The cruisers started turning around as the gunship and fighters arrived at the hangar.

"We're all ready, Admiral," said Master Plo as the doors closed behind them.

The cruisers then pushed the level as they all entered lightspeed and disappeared within a blink of an eye.


Once the cruiser was in hyperspace, Storm and Twilight got off. The pair soon heard some voices.

"Storm!"

"Twilight!"

Celestia and Luna had piloted their fighters as the top opened. The two sisters immediately jumped out and began to run toward their apprentices.

"Master!" shouted Twilight as she ran toward Celestia.

"Luna," said Storm.

Soon all four met in two separate pairs as the Jedi Masters embraced their students tightly and held them. For the sisters, they could now rest their hearts knowing they had their apprentices back and alive.

"You did good, Storm. You did good," said Luna as she shed some tears while holding the boy.

"I'm sorry, Luna. But Master Piell..."

"What matters is that you're safe. That's all I care about," said Luna as she interrupted Storm and hugged the teen even tighter. "I'm glad you're back in my arms, my son."

"Master," spoke Twilight.

"I'm glad you're alright, my student. I was worried..."

"I missed you, Master," sniffed Twilight as she cried into Celestia's chest.

"Let's go home," said Celestia.

The two Jedi Masters then began to lead their students away as all four walked together. Twilight and Storm looked at each other as they smiled; even the Jedi Masters saw this and couldn't help but smile as well, as they were all glad to be reunited after such a dangerous suicide mission.

The entire group soon arrived on Coruscant as they landed at the Jedi Temple. Awaiting them were Master Windu and Yoda as the Jedi exited the ship.

"Of Master Piell's loss, we are sorry to hear," said Yoda.

"He will be missed," added Windu.

"Because of his great sacrifice, we now have the Nexus Route coordinates," said Master Plo.

"Captain Tarkin and Ahsoka have each memorized half," said Obi-wan for all to know.

"Debrief them both, we must," said Yoda.

"With all due respect, Master Jedi, I was instructed by Chancellor Palpatine to bring the intel directly to him for debriefing," said Captain Tarkin as Ahsoka looked at him with a disgusting expression.

"I promised Master Piell that I would deliver it only to the Council. And that's what I will do," scowled the girl at the captain.

"Hmm... Personally meet with the Chancellor, I will. Decide what is best to do, we shall," stated Yoda as he began to leave with most of the Jedi Masters and Twilight.

"Master Plo, there's something we want to ask you. Did you assign Ahsoka to the mission?" asked Anakin as he caught the Jedi Master just as he and Ahsoka were about to leave.

The girl heard that as she looked at the Jedi Master and her teacher.

"It appears I did," sighed the Jedi Master as Ahsoka smiled. They soon left as that, left Storm, Anakin, and Obi-wan with looks on their faces.

"A job well done, General Skywalker," said Captain Tarkin as he approached Anakin and shook his hand.

Storm stuck his hand out as he looked to show respect for Tarkin. He went to shake the hand of the teen, only for Storm to pull his hand back and run it through his hair. The boy had a devious smile at disrespecting the man before giving him a middle finger to add more insult.

"I wish more Jedi had your military sensibilities," scoffed Tarkin as he looked at Obi-wan and Storm. "Perhaps I can inform the Chancellor of your valor."

"Get to stepping, motherfucker," stated Storm.

"STORM!" shouted Luna as, despite being far away, she heard her student using that vulgar word and was unhappy.

"I'm not sure what to think of your new ally," said Obi-wan to his student as they watched Tarkin approach a transport.

"Well, I think we need people like him. This is a war. If we aren't willing to do what it takes to win, we risk losing everything we try to protect." said Anakin as he seemed to be on the side of Tarkin

"Unfortunately, war tends to distort our point of view. If we sacrifice our code, even for victory, we may lose that which is most important, our honor," stated the Jedi Master.

"You hear that, Anakin. It makes us no better than the Separatists," glared Storm at his friend.

Safe to say, both Jedi Knights scowled at the other as their friendship was now starting to take another step in crumbling.


Twilight was in her room; her droid was sitting on her desk. The girl had its back open as she was doing some tinkering.

"Password Required!" said TS-01 as her eyes were red and gave an automatic security warning.

"Password is..." Twilight spoke as the droid's eyes turned red to green.

"Password accepted. Preparing for internal storage. Can only be accessed by authorized users." spoke Twilight's droid.

"Sparky?" said Storm as he knocked on the door.

The princess answered it as there was the boy. She quickly pulled him in as she locked the door to ensure nobody else was around.

"What are you doing?" asked Storm.

"Not so loud," whispered the girl as she used Storm to lean in.

"What's going on?" said the boy softly.

"I'm doing something. Remember how Ahsoka said that she knew the coordinates."

"Yeah."

"Well, she didn't say that Master Piell also told me before he passed," said the girl.

"What?" said Storm as he was surprised to hear that.

"Not only that. When we were escaping, I planted a small bug on Captain Tarkin. And after what he said about giving the information to the Chancellor, I could listen in on their conversation. And obtain the rest of the coordinates before Master Yoda spoke with him." said the princess.

"Twilight..."

The princess then pulled out a device and inputted the two sets of coordinates. They soon produced an image as both Jedi Knights saw it. The Nexus Route displayed as both teens were in awe. Soon the image died down.

"What are you gonna do with this information?" asked Storm.

"I've planned on inputting them into TS-01 for safekeeping. It's too dangerous for anyone other than the Jedi Council to know about it. Plus, it might prove useful to us in the future in the case of... something drastic." said Twilight.

The princess then began to put the coordinates of the Nexus Route into her droid, where it would be the safest place and where nobody would think to look. The droid received the information as Twilight gave the safeguard word, and the info was locked tight in its memory bank.

Author's Note: And so we finally come to an end from this dangerous rescue/suicidemission. Let's not forget all those that died for this mission to be a success. Also some small hints being dropped that the friendship between Anakin and Storm is slowly being destroyed, if the vision of what was shown on Mortis is any indication of what's going to be. As always, leave a review expressing your thoughts and comments.