Author's Note: Dedicating this chapter to Peter Mayhew, since it's the first time I'm introducing Chewbacca. Rest In Peace you absolute legend, may the Force be with you.


-Chapter 46: Hunting The Hunters-

Location: Wasskah

"Pain reminds us we're alive, even when we'd rather not be."

"Well that was a bust." Wraith grumbled. The super-soldier was currently piloting his Aka'jor-type shuttle and streaking through hyperspace. Prior to this he had been sent to help turn around a losing battle on the world of Gan Moradir, the Republic having made significant gains, enough to threaten the Separatist's hold on the planet. But Wraith had arrived too late to turn the tide and Separatist forces had no choice but to retreat, leaving Gan Moradir in Republic hands.

It seemed to him like this had been a waste of a trip... but he had no idea that destiny had a reason for him to be out here...

After leaving a battle, Wraith always performed numerous hyperspace jumps in order to throw off any scanners or trackers so the Republic could not find the Dominance and the fleet amassing around it. He was just about to complete his first jump, one of three if his calculations were correct. Since setting up shop in the Dominance, Wraith wished he could simply call the ship to a nearby system and only need one jump in order to return. But, given the need to keep the ship's location a secret, he had no choice but to throw the Republic off his trail before he went home.

As the tunnel of light went on and on, Wraith suddenly received an alarm on his console in the form of a blinking red light. Quickly diagnosing the problem, Wraith gave a rumble of concern as a series of irregular numbers flashed across his terminal, retrieved directly from his shuttle's hyperdrive system. The super-soldier quickly put in a call to his home base.

"Doc, you read?"

"Loud and clear, my boy." Scipio responded.

"I'm getting some weird, fluctuating readings from the hyperdrive." Wraith explained, eyeing the strange numbers with a wary gaze.

"Well it has been in use a lot, it might be an age factor." Scipio theorized, understanding that this was likely a mechanical problem. One that, if left unchecked, could prove dangerous. "I suggest you land and give it a once over, just to be safe." He recommended.

"Understood." Wraith agreed. Ending the comm, the super-soldier quickly keyed in the coordinates for an early drop out of hyperspace. He would use the nearest system for these repairs. "I'm not even out of the Mid-Rim yet..." He grumbled. Wraith hated it when things weren't going on his way, especially in the militaristic department. Time was a commodity he couldn't afford to waste, and stupid things like a malfunctioning hyperdrive did not contribute to a productive war effort.

Starlight slowed down around him as the shuttle dropped out of hyperspace, revealing a dark green world suspended in the midst of a black curtain of stars. Double-checking his coordinates, Wraith pinpointed his location. "Trandosha..." He realized. Trandosha was home to the vicious lizard-like Trandoshan species. Best known for being bounty hunters or powerful mercenaries, 'Trandos' were not to be messed with when one was under-prepared. While Wraith could easily handle a group of Trandoshans, he simply wasn't in the mood to right now. All he wanted was to give his hyperdrive a once over, fix whatever might be wrong and then get back to the Dominance. Pinging his scanners, Wraith veered his ship to starboard. "I'll use that moon. I don't care much for dealing with lizards right now." He mused, plotting a course for the nearby celestial body... whose name he would remember for a long time afterwards...

Wasskah.

Breaking through the moon's atmosphere, the first thing Wraith noticed was the series of islands that comprised the moon's geography. Isolated and unconnected, it appeared this place was uninhabited.

Good news for him.

Picking the nearest island, Wraith set down on the shore before disembarking to investigate his hyperdrive problem. "Hopefully it just needs a cooldown..." He mused as he circled around to the side and lifted the side panel before sliding the cowling aside. At first glance his engine appeared to be fine, but Wraith knew better than to trust initial appearances as looks could be deceiving. Plugging his gauntlet's computation equipment into a nearby socket and ran a quick diagnostic scan of the machine. Seconds later, he discovered that several vital parts were overheating from, as Scipio had theorized, extended use.

There was nothing he could do.

Wraith growled in frustration as he yanked his equipment free. "Stupid thing..." He growled, slamming the panels shut. "Of all the times for a breakdown... right when I want to be home." He grumbled. Leaning against the side of his ship, Wraith realized he'd have to wait it out and momentarily wondered if he should contact Scipio. Suddenly, his proximity sensors alerted him to the presence of four individuals. Approaching from in front of him, Wraith doubted they could see him but was not in the mood for an ambush. Triggering his cloaker, Wraith disappeared into thin air with a shimmer. Straightening up, the super-soldier moved to the side of his ship and waited for these individuals to make themselves known.

Who showed up surprised him greatly.

The first two to poke their head out of the foliage was a blue male Twi'lek and a female human with straight black hair. After immediately recognizing them to not be Trandoshans and very young, Wraith couldn't help but lose his heightened sense of ready anticipation and exchange it for confusion.

"What's this doing out here?" The Twi'lek wondered as he stepped out to approach the shuttle.

"Careful Jinx. It could be a trap." The human cautioned him.

"I'm pretty sure that isn't a Trando ship, Kalifa." The Twi'lek, Jinx apparently, replied. The girl, called 'Kalifa' it seemed, emerged next. Wraith suddenly realized that they were both wearing Jedi robes as well as telltale braids.

What's going on here? He silently asked himself. It was moments like these where Voice might pipe up and say something, but after his most recent reconditioning session, that wasn't going to happen for a good while... or, at least, until he hit his head really hard. As he was thinking, a Cerean poked his head up from behind the plants.

"Is... Is it abandoned?" He wondered. "Can we fly it out of here?"

"I do not know yet?" Jinx replied, examining the craft.

"O-Mer, watch our backs." Kalifa told him. Wraith's gaze returned to the Cerean for a moment before someone else stepped out of the jungle, whose presence made Wraith's eyes widen.

Ahsoka was here too.

What the hell...? Wraith silently wondered, shocked by her presence. He took note of the lack of lightsabers clipped to her belt and the lack of any Clones or Skywalker around, all of which led him to conclude that none of this was normal.

Something seemed off about this whole situation.

After only a few seconds of carefully examining the shuttle, Ahsoka was hit with a spark of realization.

"I... I think I know who this ship belongs to." She quietly revealed, recognizing the make and model from one of Master Plo's reports.

"Who do you know that flies one of these?" The Cerean, known as O-Mer apparently, wondered. Ahsoka didn't quite respond just yet, hesitant to explain.

"Wait a minute..." the human girl, Kalifa, interrupted, walking around the nose of the ship. "it's got Separatist markings!" She exclaimed, surprising the others. She turned to them with a hardened look in her eyes. "You wanna bet the Seppies have something to do with these lizards hunting us?" She asked. Having overheard her statement, Wraith decided he needed answers more than he needed to maintain his cover.

"That is hardly the case." He stated, stepping out from behind his shuttle and deactivating his cloaking device. The younglings started when a man, bigger than any Trandoshan, suddenly appeared before them, clad in heavy armor and wearing a helmet whose illuminated optics looked like the stuff of nightmares. Ahsoka was hardly disturbed by the revelation and actually breathed a sigh of quietly relief as Wraith made his presence known. The younglings quickly grouped together by Ahsoka, Wraith ignoring them as his gaze settled on his Togruta crush. "Ahsoka... what're you doing here?" He asked in a curious voice.

"The short version is, we've been kidnapped by a group of Trandoshan hunters-" She started to say.

"Who are hunting us for sport." The Cerean finished. "Not like you'd care." He added with a hint of bitterness.

"I take it word of the war has reached even here?" Wraith surmised.

"We were kidnapped just before it started. Ahsoka has filled us in on what has happened... others have mentioned you before." The Twi'lek said warily looking the super/soldier up and down. "You must be The Wraith."

"I am." He replied with a nod. Ahsoka stepped closer to him while the younglings kept their distance, more familiar with him out of all of them.

"Wraith... can you help us?" She pleaded with him. Pausing to assess their situation, Wraith did not respond immediately. He knew he would be expected back at the Dominance and who knows how long this would take.

But... Ahsoka was here... and in trouble...

"I am familiar with these hunting parties. Sometimes it's a clan affair, other times it's a matter of tribal pride and family honor." He replied, mulling over thier predicament. "Either way, the 'prey' are not meant to survive." Wraith looked over the younglings. They seemed so young... if a Trando wanted a Jedi on their wall, why not someone more famous and renown? "Why would they capture the likes of you? None of you are full-fledged Jedi. Not yet, anyways." He asked.

"Because Jedi Knights are too powerful for them." Jinx told him. Hearing that, Wraith balled his hand into a fist, his attitude changing in an instant. Normally the only Jedi he'd ever stop to help would be Ahsoka. But these mere... kids... at the mercy of these kriffing Trandos... These damn lizards would act so cowardly? They would stoop so low in order to try and put Ahsoka's head on a wall?!

They were more deserving of death than any Clone was!

"You're going to survive." Wraith told them, the youngling's faces suddenly lighting up with his words. "Because these cowardly, yellow-scaled lizards now have some real competition: me." He stated with a growl.

"Why would you help us? From what we've heard, you like to kill Jedi." Kalifa asked with a frown and a questioning look. Evidently Wraith's renown had made it all the way out here, carried on the words of those who survived long enough to meet these younglings.

His reputation preceded him.

"When I join the battlefield, my opponents have every opportunity to be at their best and make things even. These Trandos purposefully put you at odds so they have the advantage. For that reason alone, I despise them." He stated, turning to Ahsoka. "That, and they want to put your head on a wall." He added. Ahsoka took the subtle hint and bashfully looked down.

"Meaning?" Kalifa implored, ignoring the somewhat obvious and strange connection between Wraith and Ahsoka.

"Meaning there's gonna be a galaxy full of corpses before that day comes." Wraith growled, attention returning to the youngling. "I will cloak my ship and then join you."

"Why can't we just leave on your ship?" O-Mer asked him.

"Like a Separatist super-soldier is going to return you to the Jedi. That's not my MO." Wraith responded. "I'll help you see this battle to the end, but getting out of here is your problem, not mine." He continued, turning around and entering his ship to trigger its stealth mode.

"Great... so we're still stranded." Kalifa grumbled.

"Don't look a gift Bantha in the mouth." Ahsoka reminded her, knowing that Wraith's aid was a very useful, specifically their teamup on the Bravado coming to mind. "Although I get the feeling that's not the only reason..." She wondered as the Aka'jor shimmered and disappeared. Wraith exited, overhearing her words.

"I do question if my arrival has triggered any possible sensors... I don't want to get shot down on the way out."

"Do you really think these Trandos would have such capabilities?" Jinx asked.

"If they were so willing to go the lengths to kidnap you all, it wouldn't surprise me." Wraith replied, now standing among them. "Now... let's get started."


Moving back into the jungle, the group of five carefully crawled through the foliage, Kalifa taking point while Wraith advanced from behind, Ahsoka beside him. They ascended a tree, crawling across thick branches, Wraith demonstrating impressive agility for a man of his size which surprised the younglings, but not Ahsoka.

"It's daylight now, they'll be out hunting for sure." Jinx noted, looking up at the risen sun.

"They don't attack during the night?" Wraith queried.

"We don't know, but they haven't so far." Kalifa replied. Wraith said nothing more, pausing to process that information. Ahsoka looked over her shoulder at him. She knew that quiet look well.

"What're you thinking, Wraith?" She asked.

"The more predictable they are, the better. It makes it easy for us to chart their moves and be able to coordinate a proper, crippling strike." He answered. "The sooner I learn their patterns and styles, the sooner we stand a better chance of taking them down." Kalifa lead them down onto a lower branch, motioning for them to be quiet.

"Get down. Someone's coming." They dropped as low as they could, sneaking along the edge of the branch until it interwove with another one, creating a sense of cover that the group hid behind. Looking down towards the jungle floor, they caught sight of a male Snivvian and a female Terrelian Jango Jumper walking in the open.

"Those two came in with me. We should help them." Ahsoka urged.

"They're out in the open, it's already a risky move." Wraith debated. They couldn't afford to have too big a group, less they easily drew the Trandoshans' attention.

"It's too late." Kalifa replied. As she spoke, the Snivvian was shot down from behind, the Jumper startled by the sudden attack. The group looked to their right where the shot had come from and spotted a pair of Trandoshans on an MSP80 Pteropter hover pod. One of them blitzed the Jumper with a barrage of blaster fire, the would-be victim quickly leaping away and sprinting into the brush, attempting to evade her pursuers.

"Look at her run!" One of the lizards hissed. Ahsoka made to rise and help her out, but Wraith and Kalifa quickly placed thier hands on her shoulders, urging her back down. The Trando vehicle was maneuvered into position behind the fleeing Jumper. "It's your shot, take her out!" One lizard instructed his partner, who slipped a rifle off his shoulder and took aim, lining up the Terrelian through his scope. The female continued to bounce from branch to branch as she ran away from the hunters, only to be fueled by a single shot from the Trandoshan's rifle. Her body paused for a moment before falling back off the branch and hitting the jungle floor, dead. Ahsoka recoiled in horror, Wraith taking notice of her pained expression.

"I'm sorry... but they were dead already. Helping them would've endangered you all." He told her in a whisper.

"You could've done something!" She retorted, sounding desperate.

"I'm here to help you get out of this alive, not 'do the right thing'." Wraith countered. "But mark my words, when this is over, no one else will have to suffer these cowards ever again." He proclaimed, trying to reassure her. Ahsoka didn't seem too moved by his words, but did look back at the grisly scene with a sudden resurgence of determination.

"Let's keep moving." Kalifa whispered, leading the group on. After they were well out of earshot of the hunters and had arrived at a clearing, Kalifa turned to Ahsoka. "We're not saviors, we're survivors." She told her. "We can do nothing against them."

"Not yet at least." Wraith rumbled. "With my help, we'll soon turn the tide against these kriffing Trandos."

"And what exactly are you doing to help?" O-Mer questioned.

"I am studying their mannerisms and courses of action, as well as keeping you all safe." He replied. "It takes time to form a plan of action, young one."

"We'll never get out of here if we just keep hiding!" Ahsoka protested. "We have to act!" The younglings said nothing, taking a seat with their eyes downcast, expressions looking glum as if they couldn't see the hope in Ahsoka's words.

"There were other Padawans here who once thought as you do now." Jinx mused.

"Alright... where are they?" Ahsoka wondered. But Wraith immediately clued in to his words.

"They're dead." He stated. Wraith was really starting to build a hatred for these Trandos. They killed and kidnapped as they saw fit and now they were willing to try and put his beloved Ahsoka's head on a wall. He looked out into the distance and balled his hands into fists, clenching them tightly.

This would not stand! In that moment, Wraith felt enough fervor to try exterminating the entire Trandoshan race. But he knew sending a message with these few scumbags would speak volumes... massacres could come later if the lesson wasn't learned.

"Just because they failed doesn't mean we will." Ahsoka earnestly replied, determined to do something about this. Wraith appreciated her tenacity, finding it rivaling his own.

"You don't understand. It's not that we don't want to... We're younglings, they have every advantage." O-Mer replied, revealing just how devastated they were. Wraith took note of his words and realized they had lost hope as the days wore on. They'd succumbed to the ravages of time and duress. Only he and Ahsoka truly had what it took to retaliate.

Their fires needed to be rekindled somehow.

But as he was contemplating this, Ahsoka turned and made to re-enter the jungle.

"Ahsoka?" He asked.

"Get back here!" Kalifa hissed, not wanting her to be found. Ahsoka turned with a determined fire in her eyes.

"I can't do that. My master would never forgive me for running and hiding in a situation like this. I"m doing this whether you're with me or not." She replied before turning around, very determined to leave.

"Do not overestimate your abilities." Kalifa cautioned her, trying to get Ahsoka to see the wisdom in their current course of action. Before either of them could continue, Wraith spoke up.

"Ahsoka," He said her name with a gentle calmness that caused her to stop, "normally I say to hell with whatever Anakin says, even now I still will." He said. "But if you're going back in there, I'm coming with you." He stated. Ahsoka's expression brightened a little. Having tagteamed with Wraith once before, she knew his help to be invaluable.

"But-" Kalifa tried to say.

"Kalifa," Wraith interrupted, turning to the youngling, "I trust her. Will you?" He asked. The girl regarded him for a moment before crossing her arms and looking away.

"I'm not taking advice from a Separatist." She muttered.

"Then find someplace safe to hide. We will be back." Wraith ordered, bounding off into the jungle alongside Ahsoka.


Dropping down to the ground, Wraith and Ahsoka crept along, the super-soldier adjusting his proximity sensors as they did.

"Here lizard lizard lizard... come and find me..." Ahsoka softly called, halfheartedly hoping a Trandoshan would find her.

"That's how you plan to lure them out?" Wraith wondered.

"You got a better idea?" Ahsoka asked, looking over her shoulder. Wraith chuckled.

"No. Yours is cuter anyway..." He quietly remarked. Ahsoka caught it and chuckled herself, the lighthearted moment welcome in the midst of the moment.

"Maybe I'll try it next time I'm trying to find you." She joked.

"I will come running." Wraith replied, smirking beneath his mask. They continued on for a few more moments before Ahsoka suddenly turned to her right and found an armed Trandoshan sizing her up. She quickly used the Force to push him to the side before grabbing him again and hurling him into the ground with a burst of telekinetic power. "You got him?" Wraith asked as he hung back, Ahsoka not immediately replying as the Trando got up and started swinging at her. Ahsoka ducked each one as Wraith looked on, waiting for an appropriate moment to strike.

"Yeah... I think so!" She responded, suddenly leaping up and onto his back, covering his eyes as she tried to disorient him. But the Trando managed to grab her and promptly threw her across the jungle floor, retrieving his weapon and quickly taking aim at the recovering Togruta. Ahsoka thought she might be done for but then a blade pierced through the Trandoshan's torso from behind, a small splash of green blood landing on her montrals and raised glove as she tried to shield herself. The wounded Trandoshan managed a pair of barks for help before the blade quickly sliced upwards, bisecting the Trando almost in two and killing him instantly. His partially halved body hit the ground as Wraith retracted his blade, the super-soldier walking over to Ahsoka and helping her up. "What took you so long?" She wondered.

"You said you had him." He replied. Wraith watched as Ahsoka tried to brush some of the Trandoshan's blood off her montrals, muttering a quiet "Ew" as she did. Wraith took the initiative and used his thumb to wipe a drop off her dusty cheek. "Dirty girl..." He joked. Ahsoka rolled her eyes.

"Save it." She told him with a slight grin. As they conversed the younglings joined them, apparently moved by Ahsoka's words. They paused when they realized one of the hunters lay dead on the ground. A once invincible enemy was now no more.

"You... You got one." Kalifa whispered, staring in awe at the body at their feet.

"I've never seen a dead Trandoshan before." O-Mer said, chiming in.

"A welcome sight, I bet." Wraith observed. "But we now have a problem, he managed to put out a cry for help. His allies are likely close at hand."

"Well... I guess we're in it now." Jinx sighed as they realized they weren't exactly hidden any longer. Understanding the sudden tensity of the situation, Ahsoka turned to the one man who always had a plan.

"Alright Wraith, what do we do?" Ahsoka asked. Having given these Trandoshans some thought, Wraith had an analysis ready to go.

"Trandoshans seemingly have no rhyme or reason to their ways. They're brutes, determined to overpower and overcome. They're also notorious predators, known across the galaxy for their animalistic ways." He answered, partly thinking out loud. "They will respond to you like animals; attacking if they feel threatened and pursuing you if they feel they have the advantage."

"If they're predators, then what chance do you stand?" Kalifa asked in a rather demanding tone. Wraith turned to regard her.

"They may be predators... but none of them are an apex predator." Wraith replied, more than ready to cement his dominance over these Force-damned cowards. Ahsoka knew to take his words literally, sometimes, and knew that Wraith believed himself to be above all others.

And sometimes... he was.

"The four of you start running, we'll see how they react." He stated.

"Run? That's your plan?" O-Mer repeated in disbelief.

"You're gonna get us killed!" Kalifa exclaimed.

"None of you will die. You have my word on that." Wraith assured them. "I will bear the brunt of their assault. Should they pursue, the rest of you use the Force to frustrate them. Prevent them from getting what they want. The angrier they are the more likely they will be to screw up." He explained. "Leaving them easy targets for me to pick off. If we work in tandem, we will survive. Now go. All of you!" He ordered as the thrum of distant engines grew louder. Ahsoka and the younglings turned and fled, Wraith staying behind as he stood his ground, waiting for the Trandoshan ship to arrive.

Moments later, it did.

The small, box-shaped hover pod came flying from out of the jungle foliage, bearing three Trandoshans. Wraith quickly broke into a sprint before vaulting up and onto the craft, a blade deployed. It speared clean through the head of the nearest, green-scaled hunter as Wraith tackled them all out of the craft, the vehicle promptly crashing into the nearby trees and coming undone with a burst of electricity. Withdrawing his blade from the impaled Trando, Wraith turned to face the remaining two.

"You're going to pay for that!" An orange-scaled lizard hissed as he raised his rifle. "And I'm going to get a nice trophy..." Clearly he had no idea who he was talking to.

"Speak for yourself, lizard-lips!" Wraith growled as the Trando opened fire. The rifle rounds pinged off his armor as he quickly advanced. Triggering his second blade, Wraith pounced on the lizard and stabbed his blades clean through his body, green blood soaking his weapons as he hoisted the screaming Trando off the ground. Flexing his impressive strength, Wraith tore the hunter asunder, the halves of his body falling off his blades. The final Trandoshan, a far huskier green-scaled lizard, charged Wraith and attacked him with repeated punches that his armor absorbed. Realizing they had no effect, the Trando looked up into Wraith's fiery optics as the super-soldier's hand encircled his neck. "Didn't think that through... did you, chopperface?" He wondered, punching the Trandos lights out, the lizard falling limp in his arms. Surveying the carnage around him, Wraith rolled his shoulders and breathed deeply.

That felt good...

But seeing as more would come, Wraith decided to leave a message behind for any other Trandos to find. Eyeing the lizard in his hand, Wraith drew one of his combat knives...

Later...

As dusk fell, another group of Trandoshan hunters came to investigate what had become of the other group that had gone out that morning. When they eventually did find the party's crashed hover pod, they found a scene of horror awaiting them.

Three of their comrades had been stabbed and slashed open, one missing his face and another torn in two. But a final Trandoshan hung suspended from a higher branch... having been flayed alive and left on display for anyone to see... an Aurebesh 'W' carved into his flesh and a lightning bolt running through it.


Using his sensors to track down the Jedi, Wraith arrived at their treetop hideout. An impressive room carved into the tree set high from the forest floor, it made for quite a nice place to stay. Wraith settled in around the fire the younglings had constructed, his mouthguard retracted and the fire highlighting a few of the specks of green blood that dotted his armor. The Jedi were busy eating some tree fruits they'd collected and found to be edible.

"For the first time in a long time, I think we might actually stand a chance against them." O-Mer mused.

"I know. It's so wierd..." Kalifa agreed. She then turned to Wraith, who sat opposite Ahsoka. "I never thought I'd say this... but I'm grateful for your help." She honestly told him. "Thanks to you two and your strength, we've got a fighting chance that we've never had before." Wraith nodded. He could see the fire starting to be rekindled, hope flourishing anew within her.

"We may technically be on opposite sides, Kalifa, but there are some issues we can agree upon and therefore work together to change." He answered. "You'll find I'm not your average Separatist." Kalifa smiled at his response and offered him a fruit.

"You hungry?" She wondered. Wraith held up his hand to decline.

"You eat. I ate this morning, I'm good for several hours still." He replied. This was true. Wraith's average supplement consisted of protein shakes and maybe the odd solid meal, but mostly specially designed nutrient compounds that would aid his enhanced physique's metabolic needs. The younglings were astounded by his declaration of 'a few more hours' most of them needing at least a meal or two a day to stay alive.

"It's like he's not even human..." Jinx whispered to O-Mer. Wraith heard his words but made no reply.

"Wraith, we found out that the Trandoshans can control their blasters, so they can't be used against them." Ahsoka told him. The super-soldier quickly started questioning why this was.

"Interesting. They must have some kind of inhibitor failsafe installed into them, likely something that disrupts the frequency resonance of the energy cell." Wraith mused. "So they can control their own... but not mine, which is good." Drawing one of his pistols, he looked his weapon over, pleased that such an option was still viable... but he'd have to be careful about using it. He was running low on ammo of all sorts after his attempted defence of Gan Moradir. He'd have to pick and choose his ranged shots carefully. "So we should try to relieve them of their weapons. Shouldn't be a problem for a few Force-users, right?"

"I think so..." Kalifa replied. Then she yawned, stretching as she did. The contagious act was quickly repeated by Jinx and O-Mer.

"You all get some sleep. I'll keep watch. I left a deterrent behind, but I'm curious to see if Trandos are willing to operate at night." Wraith instructed them.

"After such a long day, you're gonna stay up all night too?" Jinx wondered.

"It's like you said, Jinx," Wraith replied, looking at him with a smirk, "I'm not even human." The younglings retired to their beds, but Ahsoka didn't follow them right away.

She wanted to talk with Wraith some more.

"I'm going to stay up a little later. We need to talk about... strategies." She explained to Kalifa, the word 'strategy' sounding more like an excuse to Wraith. The youngling nodded and climbed into bed, Ahsoka scooting over to sit right next to Wraith as they began to speak in hushed tones.

"I'm guessing you didn't agree to help us because you hate cowardly Trandoshans." She said with a rather knowing look in her eyes. Wraith chuckled, recognizing he'd been found out.

Not like he'd been keeping it a secret or anything.

"It was reason enough for them." He answered. "But you're right. My true purpose for staying is far simpler." He said. He knew he didn't have to say it, Ahsoka already knew.

"I don't think you've ever purposefully gone out of your way to help me like this." She responded, rubbing the back of her head.

"I've said it once before and I'll say it again; I would do anything for you, Ahsoka." Wraith replied, his crimson optics locked with her. "That and I hate seeing kids like them in situations like this." He added.

"But... they're Jedi, like me."

"That's not what I see." He said, voice turning solemn. "I see kids who need help... who shouldn't be here in the first place."

"So... you've got a soft spot for kids, eh?" Ahsoka wondered with a raised eye-marking and a half-smirk.

"There is something to be said for maintaining the innocence of childhood for as long as possible." Wraith replied with his own smirk, hiding the fact that he had never been 'innocent' by those standards. "So, what were you doing before this... hell broke loose?" He wondered, shifting the topic.

"I was on Felucia, helping Anakin and Master Plo retake ground from the droids." Ahsoka told him.

"So that's where you ran off to in the middle of our last... connection." Wraith mused. A couple days ago, Ahsoka and Wraith had spoken during one of those wierd time/space connections they had yet to fully understand. Ahsoka had to leave not long into it and now he knew why. "What about you?" She inquired.

"I had been sent to Gan Moradir in order to try and turn back the advancing Clone army. Unfortunately, I arrived too late." Wraith explained. "Lucky for you, Gan Moradir is now in Republic hands." He added. Ahsoka nodded, smiling a little.

"Good." She suddenly realized that they had both just shared what was, technically, military-grade information. She was openly speaking with a Separatist about the Republic reclamation of Felucia and he was telling her, a Jedi commander within the Republic army, about the Separatists attempted defence of Gan Moradir. And it had just come up in conversation becuase she felt at ease around him.

Was it weird for them to talk like this?

"You know... Felucia was the first time I ever saw you." Wraith told her, reminiscing of one of his earliest missions ever. "Fighting off the droid army atop a tank. You didn't have to say a word and yet your determination and tenacity was so obvious, just from looking at you." He said, a far off look in his optics as his head rested against the surface behind him. "I'm pretty sure that was when I developed a crush on you." Ahsoka felt her face go flush... and not from the heat of the fire.

"R-Really?" Wraith nodded.

"So bright. So youthful. So energetic. So... powerful. I was completely and utterly enamoured with you." He answered. Ahsoka smiled, the compliment rendering her quite bashful.

"And now?" She wondered. Wraith turned to her with a smile.

"Even more so." He replied. Ahsoka smiled in return, his words comforting to a certain degree. Something about someone else feeling so positively about you certainly did something to brighten the mood.

"Felucia was... not one of my best moments." She said, remembering the embarrassing aftermath and her reprimand in front of the Council. "Let's just say I had a rough go at first. I was really stubborn, really headstrong. Thought I could take on the galaxy all by myself."

"Don't we all think that at some point?" Wraith wondered. Of course, with his enhancements, he might actually be able to...

"But I made mistakes. Plenty of them. There were moments I didn't anticipate, changes I had to work with. Sometimes the outcomes were alright... other times, not so much. Like when I lost my squadron..." Ahsoka added. Wraith suddenly turned to her.

"You lost a squadron?" She nodded, recalling the event with little fondness.

"When the Republic went to take Ryloth. Anakin had me lead the charge against the Separatist blockade... but we weren't anticipating reinforcements. A couple cruisers showed up and decimated my entire squadron. I was one of the only survivors." She told him.

"That must wear on you." Wraith mused, knowing the burden of responsibility often weighed heavily on those who bore it. "Have you ever gotten over that?"

"I... I guess so." She replied. Ahsoka had never really brought that moment up until now. After Ryloth had been liberated, she slowly forgot about the whole battle for its airspace. "I guess I just got numb to it after a while." She mused. Wraith's expression changed, clouding over as darker thoughts entered his mind.

"The Jedi treat you like some kind of child soldier, expecting you to feel nothing. But that isn't so." He growled, not really meaning to say that to her.

"That's not true!" Ahsoka exclaimed in protest.

"Then why do they have you ignore your feelings? Why is that one of their mandates?"

"Because feelings and emotions can be a gateway to the Dark Side." Ahsoka informed him. To Wraith, it sounded like she was reciting someone else's cue cards. "Too much of any-"

"I'm sorry, but that's the biggest load of sithspit I've heard all day!" He interrupted her. "Your emotions can't corrupt you! They are a natural part of who you are, they are what make you a unique individual." He stated.

"You don't know what it's like to have two different sides pulling at you." Ahsoka emphatically replied, trying to help him realize the very real struggle Jedi like her faced every day.

"Ahsoka, not all of what you call the 'Dark Side' is really that bad." Wraith retorted. "The Jedi simply deny you such emotions because it goes against their code, there's really nothing wrong with them!" Such was the reality he had come to grasp. To him, the Jedi Order was very narrow-minded and he hated to see such a useless series of conservative commands hinder a strong-spirited go-getter like Ahsoka.

"Then what am I supposed to do? If I can't control my emotions, I'll become consumed by them and fall to the Dark Side." Ahsoka asked. Wraith quickly did a mental recap of what he knew about Togrutan physiology, psychology, society and culture. Having studied them quite rigorously, thanks to his emotional investment in one, he had learned a great deal of facts about the primal race... and believed he had a solution in mind.

"Maybe, instead of just blocking things out entirely and trying to smother them, you should try to temper your feelings." He suggested. "As a Togruta you're a very social and emotional creature, emotions are a part of your genetic makeup. You should embrace this." Wraith encouraged her. Ahsoka looked at him askance, the idea new and never before suggested to her. Not even by someone like Master Shaak.

"Why?"

"Scientifically speaking, pent-up feelings generally results in enhanced anxiety, tension and a decrease in other functions. If you keeping stowing your emotions away, Ahsoka, you'll end up hurting yourself." Wraith informed her, warning her simultaneously. His words hit home, but Wraith never realized it. This was Ahsoka's longest struggle and, Wraith was right, most of it was due to her emotional nature as a Togruta. She'd tried for so long to be like the other Jedi, but her youthfulness and changing body presented an absolute landscape of issues for her to overcome... some of which nobody else knew about. "If you don't mind me asking, how have you kept it together for this long?" Wraith inquired, trying not to pry but still curious all the same.

"I use the Force. It calms me, helps me focus, you know, generally cancels out everything else." She replied. While this was true, it hadn't been her solution to everything, but she did find it to be an acceptable, general answer. Wraith surmised she'd no doubt been taught to rely on that too... That was another issue he had wth the Jedi; they were too obsessed with using the Force to solve every single problem.

"The Force. Right. Like some invisible energy system is going to be the ultimate solution for everything." Wraith muttered.

"You'd be surprised." Ahsoka remarked.

"I prefer to ground what I know in science and fact." Wraith retorted. Suddenly realizing how hard and condemning he sounded, he immediately apologized. "I'm sorry, I... I-I didn't mean to come off so harshly."

"It's okay. I know you weren't directing it at me." Ahsoka responded, forgiving him. Wraith turned to her and watched as she gave a big yawn.

"You're tired. You should sleep."

"I can't." She replied, rubbing her eyes. "The others... they need me..." She tried to say, but couldn't help but yawn again in mid sentence. As she rubbed her eyes yet again, Ahsoka suddenly found Wraith's duster being draped around her shoulders, fitting her like a blanket.

"Sleep." Wraith encouraged her, one of his big strong arms coming to rest around her shoulders. "You don't have to do everything yourself. I will keep watch over us all." His words proved to be enough reassurance for her and Ahsoka soon nodded off, her head coming to rest against Wraith's shoulder as she leaned against him. Smiling to himself, Wraith rested his head against the wall behind him as he adjusted his proximity sensors to function at their maximum range...


Later...

A subtle beeping stirred Wraith from his partial slumber as his proximity sensors alerted him to the inbound presence of several individuals. The fire in the hideout had long since gone out and Wraith quickly judged it to be the middle of the night.

Meaning it could only be Trandoshans moving in such a tactical pattern.

Realizing he needed to investigate, Wraith eased Ahsoka off his shoulder and carefully lowered her to the ground, ensuring he did not wake her.

"So much for them not attacking at night." He muttered, mask closing up over his mouth. Quickly stepping outside onto the nearest branch, Wraith triggered his cloaking field and focused on tracking the subjects highlighted by his proximity sensors, a total of six targets. Fastening a grapple to the tree branch, the invisible Wraith quietly dropped down from his perch as the six signatures appeared right beneath him.

Putting him right on top of them.

Wraith watched through his optics as the six armed Trandoshans carefully prowled through the jungle on foot. Adjusting his audio receptors, he listened in as the conversed.

"Keep searching! Garnac wants whatever killed Lo-Taren and the others taken out immediately." A green-scaled lizard stated. "We do not need unnecessary casualties, especially during a hunt!"

"Why did we have to be out here?" Another grumbled. "I wanted to be back partying with Dar. He's gonna kill a Jedi tomorrow..." Wraith quickly realized that his little 'message' had attracted the attention of these filthy lizards.

My bad. He thought. Fortunately, these prowling hunters hadn't realized the Jedi were encamped directly above them, leaving Wraith to assume that they were safe for the time being.

But the longer these filthy things stuck around, the possibility of them being uncovered increased dramatically. They needed to be taken out, Wraith concluded.

With darkness and invisibility on his side, Wraith lowered himself to the ground soundlessly and proceeded to creep up on the Trando furtherest away from the group; a brown-scaled lizard at the back of the party. Drawing a knife, Wraith got real close to the hunter, close enough to hear the lizard sniff the air like he had detected Wraith's presence. He had no time to deduce the scent, however, as Wraith quickly and quietly slit his throat. Green blood sprayed from the wound as the Trandoshan wordlessly clutched his throat, gurgling as he keeled over and died. Wraith quickly retreated from the scene and waited to see if anyone would notice. No one seemed to and he began to pick out his next victim, ready to pair the group of five down to four. A green-scaled Trando at the front of the pack sniffed the air, his acute senses picking up a new scent.

"Fresh blood..." He hissed to his comrades. They could smell it too.

"Where from?" A husky, orange-scaled lizard asked. As their focus was turned on one another, Wraith struck suddenly before any of the others could speak, creeping up behind the rearmost Trandoshan and stabbing him clean through the side of his head. He pulled his knife free with a spray of green blood as he fell dead. This time, the death did not go unnoticed.

"Mo-Karo!" The Trandos gathered around his body, checking him over a thin, green lizard stood up and looked around. "We are being hunted..." He realized, gripping his rifle tighter.

"By who?" Another Trando asked him. He didn't have time to respond as yet another Trando was suddenly downed, his head twisting violently as his neck was snapped by an unseen assailant. Just as the hunters turned to recognize their dead comrade, yet another Trando fell dead as a throwing knife speared the back of his head, killing him instantly.

The two remaining Trandos waved their weapons about, wildly looking this way and that for some sign of the unseen killer. Suddenly, one of them was cut down, decapitated by an unseen blade. Only the husky brown Trandoshan was left and he made to fire, only to realize his blaster had been shorn in two. Dropping his defunct tool, the lizard drew a long hunting knife and looked around.

"What are you...?" He hissed, ready to strike as soon as he saw something. Then, the air before him started to shimmer, and a hulking form that was taller than him came into view, crimson optics blazing bright in the midst of the darkened jungle. The Trandoshan recoiled, startled by the sight of no mere jungle beast that was hunting him and his allies.

"A real predator." Wraith growled, blades extending with a shrill ring.

The Trandoshan's ensuing screams, piercing Wasskah's night air, were silenced moments later...


The next morning...

Ahsoka hummed as she slowly awoke, blinking her eyes as she registered the early morning sun. Stretching a little, she suddenly realized the positioning of her arms were... rather awkward.

While her head was still resting against Wraith's shoulder, her left arm was wrapped around his while her right was draped across his lap, her hand curling around his side as if she were hugging him. Realizing her predicament, her face turned bright red and she quickly sat up with surprising speed for this early in the morning. She hoped Wraith had nodded off and hadn't realized where her arms had been, but her hopes were quickly dashed when Wraith turned to her and asked,

"Sleep well?" Ahsoka flushed with embarrassment, pulling his duster a little tighter around her.

"Uh... Y-Yeah... yeah." She stammered in response, avoiding eye contact. He didn't seem to mind, nor did he make any remarks. Of course he wouldn't mind. She thought. This was Wraith after all...

"That's good." He replied, stretching his arms as his body rippled beneath his shirt.

"How was keeping watch?" She asked, shedding his duster.

"Quiet." He answered, deeming it unnecessary to alarm her with the news of the six dead Trandos beneath the tree. He stood up and offered her his hand, which she took. Once on her feet, she returned his duster.

"I was talking with the others last night before you returned, and we think we have a plan." She informed him. Wraith nodded as he did up the front flap of his duster.

"Good. Fill me in on the way." He replied. "Let's move before these kriffing scum get really active."

Once the younglings were awake, the five moved into the jungle, Ahsoka informing Wraith of the plan she and the others had concocted last night. Ahsoka had come to the conclusion that the Trandoshans has to have a base somewhere, meaning if they were going to attack that would be the best place to start.

Wraith had to agree.

"A hunting guild like this one has to have a lodge of some kind." He mused. "Smart thinking Ahsoka." He complimented. Ahsoka grinned, but knew there was another issue to raise.

"The problem is we don't know where to start looking for one." She added.

"I'll adjust my scanners to see if I can find any high energy outputs. In the meanwhile, let's start looking for one while we're evading these lizards." Wraith suggested. With Kalifa taking the lead on where to look, the group started searching the island, combing areas left and right, all while trying to keep a low profile and avoid the Trandoshan hunters. Having never worked with, or even seen, the super-soldier before, the younglings were growing rapidly impressed with who The Wraith was. They watched as he scaled the terrain along with them, displaying impressive agility for a man of his build. He had the equivalent and proportionate abilities to a seasoned Jedi, they deduced, and they weren't far off.

The day wore on as they searched the island, investigating places they had already been to as well as other, seemingly more likely locations. Around midday, they stopped for a moment of rest, Jinx and O-Mer taking a seat while Kalifa leaned against a nearby tree, Ahsoka and Wraith standing tall.

"We've already covered the beach area and most of the briar on this side of the bay." Jinx mused as they paused.

"If it was easy to find, you guys would've found it before I got here." Ahsoka commented with a light chuckle.

"True enough." The Twi'lek agreed with a nod.

"Wraith, you picking up anything?" Ahsoka asked. The super-soldier shook his head.

"Not yet. I've been actively scanning this whole time and I haven't turned up anything. I'm starting to think the energy output of their hover pods is messing with my sensors. I keep getting wierd, cross signal overlaps that's really conflicting things." He explained. Ahsoka dwelt on that thought for a moment before she suddenly had a burst of inspiration.

"Wait. Their hover pods..." She realized. Having worked on starships with Anakin quite frequently, her mechanical knowhow quickly kicked into gear. "If repulsor energy like that is causing you problems... maybe their fortress isn't necessarily on the ground." She suggested. Wraith quickly connected the dots and realized where Ahsoka was going with this.

"A flying one... hovering in place and using the same energy as their pods." He realized. Looking to Ahsoka, she would've seen him grinning had it not been for his mouthguard. "You're a genius." Wraith complimented, Ahsoka smiling in return. "Let me do some cross referencing and I'll see if-"

"I don't think you'll have to." O-Mer interrupted, his gaze turned skywards. Everyone else followed him and soon saw the colossal Trandoshan hunting lodge emerge from the misty clouds that covered the sky.

"Damn..." Wraith muttered, impressed by the scale of it. But as they were looking, three hover pods suddenly appeared in the sky, skirting the edge of the fortress and descending to the island at a rapid rate.

"Split up!" Kalifa cried. Switching his senors to proximity, Wraith locked on to all of them as they started running, following Ahsoka and Kalifa as they split off from Jinx and O-Mer, the sound of blaster fire not far behind them. Wraith quickly recognized the telltale sound of the blaster firing... and it didn't sound like your typical rifle or pistol.

"A Z-Six rotary...?!" He incredulously wondered aloud. "Damn lizards really are compensating for something..." Red rounds streaked past him and the Jedi, a few stray shots striking his armour as they ran. He purposefully brought up the rear, aiming to keep Ahsoka and Kalifa from getting hit. As they bounded across wide-spread branches, the one Kalifa was on was suddenly struck, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the jungle floor.

"Kalifa!" Ahsoka cried, desperate to keep her from getting killed. Wraith analyzed the situation and quickly developed a plan.

"After her! We have to keep her away from the Trandos!" He declared, dropping down after her. Ahsoka followed suite, but both her and Wraith were oblivious to the Trandoshan's conversation in the pod.

Garnac, the leader of this hunting guild, encouraged his son Dar to give chase and earn his very first kill.

Down on the ground, Kalifa quickly scooted away and tried to get out of sight, despite her injuries sustained in the fall. Dar was quick to give chase, but so too were Wraith and Ahsoka. Ahsoka dove headlong towards Kalifa, eager to save her fellow Jedi. Wraith hung back, analyzing the situation and anticipating a moment where he could intervene.

He trusted Ahsoka. It seemed likely that she had this under control.

The young Togruta dove down from her branch and dropkicked Dar just as the Trando was lining up Kalifa in his sights. He was quick to spring to his feet and fire in retaliation, but Ahsoka deftly used the Force to push his rifle aside and miss, buying Kalifa time to escape. Finally giving up shooting her, Dar opted to swing his rifle like a club. But Ahsoka ducked and responded with a jump kick, a move that impressed Wraith. Dar fought back, swinging wild punches that the Togruta dodged with honed, expert ease.

But then, Dar tackled her with a sudden burst of speed, pinning Ahsoka to the ground. As she struggled to free herself, one of the hover pods flew onto the scene, carrying Dar's cheering comrades. They urged him on, chanting his name as they believed him ready to score his first ever kill of a hunt. The Trandoshan gave a toothy grin, more than ready to slay her.

"You're mine, Jedi welp!" He growled, confident his first kill was, literally, in his hands. His friend looked on as his clawed hands squeezed Ahsoka's head, causing her to cry out. Suddenly, from out of the jungle, Wraith burst into view and slammed into Dar with a massive bodycheck, throwing him off of Ahsoka

"She! Is! MINE!" He roared as he went on the warpath, delivering powerful, bone-crushing punches to the Trandoshan. A hard kick crushed Dar's knee at an unnatural angle before Wraith delivered a hard left cross that snapped the Trando's head to one side, following up with an immensely hard gut-punch that sent green blood spewing from Dar's open mouth as his innards were effectively destroyed by Wraith's single blow. Grabbing the Trando and slamming him into a nearby tree, Wraith beat Dar over and over, his knuckles stained green with Trandoshan blood. The watchers were dumbstruck. First Dar was winning and now he was being brutally assaulted.

They were too surprised to intervene.

Hoisting him up, Wraith turned to Ahsoka. "Ahsoka! Think fast!" He shouted, turning and throwing Dar with all his might. Ahsoka intercepted him in mid-air by leaping up and grabbing his neck with her legs. Quickly executing a reverse-hurricanrana, Ahsoka threw Dar off a ledge behind her and down into a bed of thorns below, his broken body impaled and killed instantly. Watching him squirm and breathe his last, a satisfied Ahsoka stood up as Wraith quickly opened fire on the observing Trandos with his pistols.

"Nice move!" He called over the noise of his gunfire. The Trandos quickly beat a hasty retreat, but one departed the hover pod once they were out of view. Wraith stowed his weapons and turned to Ahsoka. "Are you well?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." She quickly answered. "But we've got to get to Kalifa."

"Agreed." Wraith firmly nodded, knowing they needed to regroup. But then, the unseen Trandoshan who had stayed behind jumped down from above and landed on Wraith's back, his clawed hands encircling Wraith's throat as his feet pressed against Wraith's back.

"Got you!" The lizard hissed triumphantly. Wraith quickly struggled, trying to pry the Trando's hands off his neck. But in this awkward position, it was a much harder task than it should be what with him being forcefully bent back and the air being choked from his lungs.

"Get... off me...! You... kriffing... lizard!" Wraith rasped as he struggled to fight back. The lizard had a pretty decent hold on his throat, playing things smart by trying to keep plenty of distance between himself and Wraith while gripping as tight as he could. Ahsoka shook off her surprise and rapidly deduced a means of helping Wraith. She needed a tool, she needed something to ward off the Trando and quickly. But there was nothing around, not even her lightsa-

Wait... she did have something on her...

But what would she tell him when he inevitably saw it? How could she explain it to him in a believable way? Maybe she could hide it somehow...

Knowing she needed to act and decided to maintain her secret later, Ahsoka started running towards Wraith and reached for her belt. Pouncing on the Trandoshan from behind, Ahsoka quickly slit his throat with a small razor blade, green blood spurting from the wound. The reptilian quickly let go of Wraith and thrashed about, throwing Ahsoka off of him and into a nearby tree. She managed to brace herself and bounced off, hitting the ground pretty hard. With his breath renewed, Wraith turned and cut the Trando in two with his arm blade. The bisected body hit the ground and Wraith dropped to one knee, gasping for air.

Maybe Scipio needed to give his shirt an anti-constricting neckpiece, or some kind of additional armour-plating. If a simple lizard could do that, what was to stop a Clone next time?

He looked up as Ahsoka crawled to her feet, a hand near her belt as she shrugged off the minor delirium inflicted by the blow. Having noticed the Trando's slit throat, Wraith obviously had a question or two in mind.

"How'd you... do that?" He asked between breaths. Ahsoka quickly made up an excuse.

"Ripped off part of a thorn." She lied. Wraith believed her, having just witnessed Dar's demise.

"Clever." He complimented, the wind just about back in his lungs. Ahsoka breathed an internal sigh of relief, grateful he hadn't seen her weapon of choice. "You okay?" Wraith wondered, standing up.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ahsoka answered. "He didn't get me." Wraith nodded.

"Right." He rumbled, flexing his chest as breathing deeply. "Let's go get Kalifa."

The two of them found Kalifa sitting on another branch, clutching her side. Knowing they needed to go, Ahsoka helped Kalifa up while Wraith scanned over the extent of her damage.

"Careful." Ahsoka whispered when Kalifa winced as she tried to put weight on one foot.

"It's okay. I can make it." The girl replied, determined to see this through. Wraith finished his scan and found her injuries both minimal and treatable.

"You will. You're gonna be fine." He told her. Just then, his proximity sensors beeped a sudden and urgent warning. "We have company!" Was all he managed to get out before a laser bolt ripped clean through Kalifa's chest, striking her from behind.

"KALIFA!" Ahsoka screamed as the girl urged forward, gasping for air.

"No!" Wraith exclaimed, catching her before she fell. The two of them quickly carried Kalifa behind another tree as more red laser rounds flew past them. They set Kalifa down as a Trando started yelling.

"There's no escape! I'll hunt you down!" Garnac shouted from a distance. In that moment, Wraith felt his anger boil over.

"Damn you..." He growled, charging his carbine and charging it up. "DAMN YOU TO HELL!" He roared, opening fire on the direction the shots had come from. Set on full-auto, his carbine ripped through the foliage as he unleashed a storm of blasterfire, Wraith burning through the energy cell in his carbine without care.

These kriffing scum... they didn't deserve mercy of any kind...

"Kalifa, we have to move!" Ahsoka told the girl, believing she could still be saved. She had to raise her voice over the clamour of Wraith's carbine.

But Kalifa knew she wasn't long for this world.

"Please... Ahsoka, leave me." She replied, gasping for air.

"We won't!" Ahsoka fervently replied, still determined to save her somehow.

"You... have to..." The black-haired human rasped. "Ahsoka... please... t-take care of..." She couldn't quite get the last word out. Ahsoka accepted her statement.

"I'll will. I'll take care of the others." She quietly reassured her. Kalifa smiled weakly.

"I know you will..." She whispered. Taking a few more shallow breaths, Kalifa closed her eyes... and passed away.

Ahsoka felt her heart lurch as Kalifa's body slumped forward, her hands shaking as she eased Kalifa's body back against the tree. The girl remained still and limp, her life vanished from Ahsoka's senses. Ahsoka felt her emotions swell severely, forcing back tears as her sorrow rooted her to the ground, forever stuck looking at the girl she had been determined to help.

She had failed her. And by extension, she felt like she had failed Jinx and O-Mer in the process.

Another life she couldn't save.

The laser fire died down, Wraith having successfully driven off the hunters. He returned to the mournful scene, sheathing his carbine across his back, to see a forlorn Ahsoka looking at Kalifa's body with deep sadness.

"Kalifa..." She whispered in a broken, strained voice. Feeling a measure of sadness of his own, Wraith chose their next course of action. Stooping down and picked up Kalifa's body in his arms, much to Ahsoka's surprise. "What're you-?"

"I'm not letting these scum get another trophy." He told her, a low growl masking his rage and sadness. Understanding and silently appreciative of his efforts, Ahsoka rose to follow him as they made their way out of the brush.


That night...

They gave Kalifa a Jedi's funeral, burning her body on a pyre. Using what materials they could find, her body was wrapped up completely and laid to rest on a makeshift bed of dry sticks. Wraith used his firesaber to ignite it, the flames racing along the kindling until bright orange licked at the covered body atop it, engulfing it all in flames.

It was a death reserved for Jedi... something, they all believed, Kalifa had become again.

They watched for a few moments in thoughtful, sorrowful reflection, the four of them standing in silence as they watched the fire burn. But knowing that the smoke might eventually signal the Trandoshans, Wraith encouraged them to return to their hideaway. Seeing the wisdom in this, Ahsoka took the lead as she, Jinx and O-Mer bade Kalifa once last silent farewell. Wraith lagged behind, ensuring they weren't followed.

He returned later than the rest, finding Jinx and O-Mer sitting gloomily around the central fire.

"I... I can't believe she's gone." Jinx muttered sadly. Wraith leaned against the nearby wall, noticing the absent Ahsoka.

"We knew her for so long... to see her go, just like that..." O-Mer added, trailing off as their original trio was now down to two.

"If only we hadn't split up. Maybe we could've done something." Jinx wondered despondently.

"Kalifa's death is on my hands." Wraith stated, mouthguard retracted and taking the blame. He had the potential to save her, but had failed. "I wasn't fast enough. The fault is mine." He continued. In truth, he felt just as bad as they did.

But he had the feeling someone else was feeling even worse.

Looking up, his gaze switched back and forth between the two younglings. "Where's Ahsoka?" He inquired.

"I think she went to the top of the tree." O-Mer replied. "She said she needed a moment." Wraith glanced up at the top of the hideout, analyzing the best way up and knowing he probably needed to talk with her.

"Remain here. I'll be back." He told them, taking his leave. Stepping outside, Wraith scaled the exterior branches with ease, ascending to the top of the tree where the branches thinned out to offer a small, flat surface, indicating the hollow nature of the spacious opening beneath it. Poking his head up and over the edge, Wraith saw Ahsoka sitting alone on the far edge, her back to him. Her posture denoted she was concentrated on something he couldn't see, which made him curious. Silently crawling to his feet, Wraith suddenly addressed her.

"You alright?" She started at his words, breathing heavily.

"It's bad enough that connection scares me, do you have to keep doing that?!" She snapped. Her change of attitude was notable and rather strange by Wraith's understanding. Still, his mind excused it as being related to Kalifa's death.

He had no idea what was really going on...

"Sorry. I was just asking." He apologized, walking over. "What're you doing?" He wondered.

"Nothing. It's fine." She muttered in reply, hurriedly getting ready to throw her glove back on. But before she could, Wraith suddenly snatched it out of her grip, appearing by her side.

"Yeah right, you're up to something..." He retorted. But when he looked down at her bare left arm, Ahsoka grimaced in shame as her secret was revealed, Wraith's gaze became glued to the underside of her arm...

And the seven thin cuts across her limb.

Reaching from her elbow to her wrist, some were a very pale orange, having been healed over time. Others were bright and fresh, grouped together, one after another. And two... two were bright red, fresh blood still trickling from them and down her arm.

Wraith was speechless.

"What... What are...?" He stammered, piecing together their conversation from last night with the evidence before him. Ahsoka suddenly stood and snatched her glove out of his grip with a frown, throwing it back on and storming past him as her attitude suddenly changed.

"I told you. I'm fine." She firmly stated. Finally finding his tongue, Wraith stammered out another reply.

"You... You are not fine!" He exclaimed. "How long have you been doing this for?!" Ahsoka didn't reply, standing still with her arms crossed and her back to him. Wraith's mind fumbled, trying to process this, as he tried to be softer about it. "Do you at least tend to your wounds afterwards?" Still nothing. In the absolute insanity of the moment, Wraith's mind suddenly drew a conclusion.

Ahsoka had not slit the Trandoshan's throat with a thorn... she had used a razor.

"You did not use a thorn, did you?" He demanded. "Show me the razor!" Ahsoka made to try and brush him off.

"What're you talking about, I don't have-"

"Cut the sithspit Ahsoka!" Wraith practically yelled. "And before you give me some excuse, yes, I know Togruta's are completely hairless. You don't have a single strand of hair on your body. Plus, those two were fresh." He stated, knowing his facts well to see through any related lie. "So why else keep a razor on hand...?" Something else suddenly clicked in his mind, something that worried him. "Tell em you didn't use that! That thing was covered in Trando blood, do you have any idea what kind of bacteria might left on it?!" He asked in exclamation.

"Just mind your own kriffing business Wraith!" Ahsoka shouted turning around to face him and looking very perturbed.

"This is my business!" He shouted in response.

"No it's not! There are some things you simply can't control!" Ahsoka retorted, marching right up to him and jamming her finger at his chest. "You can't control me and you can't control my actions!" Her words gave Wraith pause, forcing him to stop and consider what she had to say.

He was reacting based on his emotional investment. He needed to pull things back, approach this from a calm and calculated mindset. Shouting to try and overwhelm shouting never got anyone anywhere.

Wraith took a breath and performed a quick mental recap of the situation and applied his own knowledge to it. From prior research, he knew cutting was a way people tried to cope with the pain of strong emotions, intense pressure or even relationship problems. Some people dealt with feelings that seemed too difficult to bear or bad situations that were perceived to be unchangeable. Others cut as a way to feel desperate relief from bad feelings, using pain as a way of escape.

So where did Ahsoka fall in this horrible mix? What was her struggle?

Reeling things back, Wraith chose to continue.

"You're right. I can't control you." He responded in a low, quieter voice. "But I can express myself in a way that relays how much I care about you." He added. Ahsoka looked at him with a measure of disbelief.

"You? Care?" She wondered in an almost scoffing tone, turning around again. Her words hurt Wraith, but he shrugged off the pain. She's just being defensive. I've found a deep, dark secret likely no one else knows about. He reassured himself. Nothing more to do than bear the brunt of her defence so he could wear her down to a point where she'd be willing to talk.

"I do. I really do." He replied. Ahsoka said nothing for a moment, appearing much calmer but still in a rather foul mood.

"I find that hard to believe... especially when all I've ever seen of you is... lifeless metal." She quietly replied, but her voice still contained an edge of suppressed defensive anger. Wraith found them to be true, all he had ever shown her was his mouth and his eyes. She hadn't seen the rest of them, there was no person for her to connect with.

No one to talk to about this.

He reached up and tapped the other side of his helm, opposite the controls for his mouthguard. His optics powered down and turned dark, panels sliding open as his head was freed from the confines of his helmet. Taking hold of his headgear with both hands, Wraith slowly slipped it off.

"If you won't believe my words... then take a good look at me... and see for yourself." He quietly stated. His words confused Ahsoka but also piqued her curiosity. She turned around to see what he meant and, when she did, Ahsoka's eyes widened and she quietly gasped out of nervousness as she her gaze landed on the true face of The Wraith.

He was... Pretty. Kriffing. Handsome.

His face was chiseled and lean, not broad or rounded like his helmet, with defined cheekbones lined with stubble. His eyes, although amber and reptilian in appearance, were bright and his gaze steady, the amber pupils softly glowing in the dark of the night. An alpha-numerical set of characters had been tattooed into the shaven left side of his head, reading 'A-31B'. She recognized them as being the same ones mentioned in the recording; his serial number during the original Sunstorm trials. He brushed a few stray bangs of thick and straight auburn hair out of his face. His hair was long and hung as low as his neck, leaving Ahsoka to ponder how he managed to keep it all tucked inside his helmet. Overall, while he might've born a youthful aura, the war had aged him to a point where he looked like a man who had seen his fair share of death and carnage.

More than someone his age should.

His eyes, the windows to his soul, denoted such an intense sense of care the depths of which she could not fathom. But they were laced with sorrow... sorrow on her behalf. Never before had she ever seen such strong and powerful emotions in someone's look alone... especially when such emotions were directed at her. Dropping his helmet down on the ground, Wraith slowly walked over to Ahsoka. His hands settled on her arms, never breaking eye contact with her. "Please... tell me why you're doing this." He asked. "Is it because of Kalifa's death?"

"I... I-I don't want to talk about it." Ahsoka stammered, looking away.

"You need to." Wraith firmly stated. "This is not something you can hide away. This is something that needs to be confronted and dealt with." Ahsoka made no reply, still looking away. "I won't force you to talk. But I'm telling you, you need to." He whispered. By now, Ahsoka's expression had fallen, no longer angry but more along the lines of closed and depressed. "Is this because of Kalifa's death? It is, isn't it?" Still nothing from her. She seemed so quiet and small now. Wraith reflected on the fact she had seven cuts on one arm, some of them close to being fully healed. If her other arm was any similar, it appeared Ahsoka had been doing this for a long time.

But for how long?

Suddenly recalling the conversation they'd shared last night, Wraith was hit by a sudden realization.

"The squadron you lost... you never got over it, did you?" He softly wondered. After another moment of silence, Ahsoka sighed and finally started to speak.

"I tried. I honestly tried to. For a while I thought I had, everybody told me I was gonna be okay. But then Clones kept dying... and I just couldn't." She told him. "They had me lead Apex Company. Those Clones looked up to me for direction... a-and I led them into a death trap. I just sat there and watched as they all died, one by one. I didn't know what else to do!" While Wraith was unfamiliar with Apex Company, he had no idea it was the squad on Gwori that he had destroyed. "It just kept building up as the war went on, so much so that... I started hearing their voices, their dying screams in my head. A-A-And sometimes I'd hear them in my sleep too, it'd wake me up in the middle of the night like a bad dream..." Ahsoka continued, voice slowly quavering as she went on, "a bad dream that... won't stop." She looked up at Wraith with big eyes. No matter how hard she tried to look strong and stuff away her emotions, she was starting to overwhelm her. "And then one day I... I accidentally cut myself. And the screaming stopped. It felt good, it felt like I could bear their pain for a little while." She revealed. "S-So I started doing it. Every time the screaming started I... I-I-I cut myself." Wraith could feel his heart break. How many times had she been tormented by such thoughts? How long had she lived like this, forced to bear such a terrible burden and not be able to do anything about it? "I thought about stopping, I-I-I even tried to. But the Clones keep dying... and I just can't stop." Ahsoka's voice started to break now, her control over her emotions starting to fall apart. "I tried to stop but the voices were unbearable. Crying, screaming, begging for help, condemning me for being the death of them." She admitted. "I tried... and I tried..." Wraith could see her eyes water and his hands moved to gently cup her face, his gloved fingers softly gliding along her cheeks.

"Your emotional reaction to their deaths has created this vicious cycle." He quietly said. Everything he'd mentioned about her sensitive, Togrutan nature was becoming quite evident. "The stress of war is too much for you... so you cut to find relief." That was why. That was what lay at the root of her troubles.

She was a fighting a war she was never meant to fight.

Wraith gently guided her gaze back to his, concern and a deep longing to comfort her evident in his amber eyes.

"You need to tell someone." He gently encouraged her.

"Who?" Ahsoka wondered, wiping her eyes and at a loss. She'd wondered the same question herself, before she started cutting. "Anakin is no help, Obi-Wan's too clinical, Master Yoda and the others wouldn't care. They'd just see me as needing more discipline. They're all masters and I'm... I'm just another Padawan who can't control how she feels." She rambled, revealing just how alone she felt. "Nobody cares." She mumbled, looking down, sounding despondent and forlorn. Wraith steered her face back to his.

"I do." He whispered, a single tear escaping his lid and flowing down his cheek. As if his single gesture of vulnerability were contagious, Ahsoka felt her own emotions swell and reach a breaking point. She tried so hard to keep her composure, but it was ultimately for not.

It was just like Wraith had said: being a Togruta, she was a very sensitive person. She couldn't keep this bottled up inside any longer.

She broke down and started sobbing, crying big ugly tears as her emotions consumed her entirely. She practically collapsed against Wraith, her hands pawing at his armored chest as they both sank to their knees, his arms around her.

"I can't do it! I just can't!" She sobbed. "I can't be everything they want me to be!" Her tears ran like a river, landing on his armor and glinting in the moonlight as Wraith continued to hold her. Ahsoka sobbed and sobbed, everything she'd ever repressed and kept pent up now exploding in this moment. She felt absolutely defeated. "I'm such a failure!" She bawled.

"No you're not." Wraith whispered, cuddling her close to his body, his own tears starting to fall in earnest.

Wraith wasn't sure how long they knelt there, how long Ahsoka bawled in his arms for. But he was willing to give her all the time in the world. He comforted her to the best of his abilities, generally offering her a presence, a shoulder to cry on. "Ahsoka... oh my dear, dear Ahsoka..." He whispered, tears streaking past his mouth. Working up his courage, Wraith pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, desperate to comfort her. "What I wouldn't give to take your pain away..." Ahsoka heard his words but made no response, finding them comforting all the same.

When her sobs finally died down, replaced with quiet sniffles, Ahsoka looked up from Wraith's chest and into his own tear-stained face. Her eyes red and a little puffy, tear streaks cutting clean lines down her dirty face, Ahsoka was certain she looked like an absolute mess. Wraith's thumbs wiped away her tears as he held her face. "It's okay to feel like this. But you can't let it control you to the point where you're forced to do this." He softly said.

"But... sometimes the pain is too much." Ahsoka sniffled, blinking back a few more tears. "I can't help but remember them, remember that I failed them. It... It helps me forget... It helps me cope." She was trying to defend her actions. It was her only means of survival and all she'd known for so long.

"There are other ways." Wraith replied. "When you want to cut, tell yourself you won't for just one more day, hour, minute, whatever you can manage." He encouraged her. "You can always talk to me about this. I promise you, I will not look down on you for this... even now I do not." He whispered, gently tracing the white markings on her cheeks. "I care about you. And I want to help you. Okay?" After a moment of consideration where she let his words sink in, Ahsoka wiped her eyes on the backs of her hands.

"Okay." She quietly replied with a small nod. Wraith nodded as well, affirming her.

"There's one more thing I need you to do." He said. "Take your mind off it. Forget Kalifa, forget the Clones, forget all of it. You're leading this group now. Help me figure out what to do." He requested. Digesting his words, and taking an extra second to bask in this closeness, Ahsoka nodded in understanding and acceptance.

"Okay... I guess we should talk with Jinx and O-Mer." She replied, composing herself. Wraith agreed and retrieved his helmet from the ground.

"Lead on, my dear."

Returning to the interior hideout, Ahsoka and a helmeted Wraith stood before the forlorn younglings, whose fires of hope were obviously extinguished by Kalifa's death.

They needed to pluck up their hopes again.

"We're all going to die here... it's only a matter of time." O-Mer bemoaned.

"Talking like that is going to make that a reality." Wraith gently chided him. "If we're going to survive this, we need to think otherwise."

"Easy for you to say 'super-soldier'," Jinx quietly retorted, "you've never faced odds greater than you. Anything less is... suicide for us."

"I survived an orbital bombardment by a Republic cruiser. A guild of scummy Trandos aren't gonna slow me down... and it won't slow you down either." Wraith replied. "What we need to do is think differently. Their lodge might be too heavily fortified for us to launch a direct assault, so we'll have to get inventive." He explained. After some thinking, Ahsoka spoke up.

"You've said that every few days they release new prisoners on the beach. I say we attack that dropship, head on. They'll never expect it." She suggested to the younglings. The Twi'lek and Cerean shared uneasy glances, uncertain about this plan.

"Is it worth a shot?" O-Mer wondered with a sigh.

"Maybe it is." Jinx mused, standing up. Although they were onboard, Wraith could see their uneasiness through their body language.

"I promise you, when I find the Trando that killed Kalifa... he'll get what's coming to him." He reassured them, cracking his knuckles.

"It's not like us Jedi to want revenge." O-Mer replied, fighting back the urge to agree with Wraith as he struggled to cling to his Jedi teachings.

"Don't worry. I'll take it for you." The super-soldier replied.


Later...

Creeping along the brush nearest the beach, Wraith and the Jedi carefully took up hidden positions along the coastline. Wraith and Ahsoka took point as the distant thrum of inbound engines indicated the near arrival of the Trandoshan transport.

"Alright Wraith, how do you want to handle this?" Ahsoka asked in a hushed tone.

"I'll have to get a better look before I can form a proper plan. But from what you've told me, there's only two main positions to worry about: the bridge and the gunner. If I can take out their offensive capabilities, we'll storm the bridge together." He responded.

"And if it proves to be different?"

"Then follow my lead and do exactly as I say." He continued, adjusting his scanners so that he could understand the layout of the ship in a quick and reasonable amount of time. They waited tensely as a trio of lights emerged from the cloudy skies, signalling the arrival of the dropship. Immediately scanning it's makeup and composition, Wraith deduced the design in an instant. "Hmm... an HCT-two-thousand-one Dragonboat-class Reugeot nine-oh-five freighter..." He mused. "Interesting choice."

"You just said a mouthful." Ahsoka whispered teasingly. Wraith gave her a look that would've included a smirk if not for his mouthguard before turning back to the ship.

"The drop point isn't very far." O-Mer cautioned them. "We'll have to be quick." They waited a few more moments as the ship drew ever closer.

"Leave their offensive capabilities to me." Wraith whispered to them all. "Now... go!" At his word, all four of them sprinted out into the open, making a mad dash for a series of rock protrusions that would give them some height. The Jedi climbed it first, using the Force to launch themselves high into the sky. Wraith, lacking those capabilities, jumped as high as he could, before firing his grapples and reeling himself in the rest of the way.

Ahsoka landed on the transparasteel canopy surrounding the bridge, drawing the attention of the pilots inside, one of which immediately moved to deal with her. Crouched atop the ship, Ahsoka looked on as a hatch opened and the Trandoshan emerged with a rifle in hand. O-Mer and Jinx ambushed him from behind, knocking him down and silencing him before he could call for help.

"I've got the pilot!" Ahsoka called, jumping down into the ship through the open hatch. O-Mer and Jinx tried their best to keep the Trando at bay, but the reptilian creature was simply too strong for them and managed to throw both younglings off of him and send them slamming into the hull of the ship. Jinx looked up, dazed, and saw the Trandoshan ready to take a bite out of him.

CRACK!

The deafening sound of a slugthrower being fired echoed throughout the area as a portion of the Trandoshan's head suddenly evorpated into a shower of blood, his body hitting the deck moments later. Wraith jogged onto the scene, holstering his slugthrower as he did.

"You two alright?" He wondered. They nodded as they attempted to stand.

"Go help Ahsoka, she's inside." Jinx told him. Wraith gave a quick nod and descended through the same hatch, his sensors quickly pinpointing Ahsoka's location on the bridge... and his hearing picked up the sounds of a scattergun being fired. Wraith quickly stormed the bridge just in time to see Ahsoka use the Force to push a Trandoshan through the nearby canopy, disabling him. Wraith looked around, spotting scattergun holes piercing the controls of almost every wall. The ship took a sharp lean to port as the main controls fizzled and short circuited, sparks and arcs of electricity flying everywhere. Wraith could hear portions of the ship being torn off as the dropship fell prey to its lost controls.

"This thing's going down! We have to move!" He called to Ahsoka, who was still at the controls.

"But the prisoners! They'll die!" She replied, desperate to try and find a way to save them. Wraith quickly jogged over and analyzed the shot-up panel.

"There has to be a release... there!" He quickly pointed to a button which Ahsoka pressed. "Now let's go!" Heeding his advice this time, Ahsoka quickly crawled through the hole in the canopy, Wraith following as he ripped open even wider. Together with Jinx and O-Mer, the four of them jumped back to the beachhead as the dropship spiralled wildly out of control. The ship ripped itself apart, starting at its aft as pieces practically flew off and landed in the water. The bow whipping around, the remains of the ship plowed into the sand, kicking up a storm of particles that engulfed the foursome. Wraith quickly shielded Ahsoka from the incoming blast of sand that died down mere moments later. The group surveyed the wreck that was supposed to be their way out. "They did not build those things to last." Wraith muttered as he looked on. "Seriously, that's some shoddy construction."

"Well... I guess we won't be escaping on that ship." O-Mer commented, pointing out the obvious.

"We'll find another way." Ahsoka reassured him. The group regathered and was about to discuss what to do next when a sudden growling from within the smoking wreck drew their attention.

"What was that?" Jinx wondered.

"A survivor." Ahsoka realized, jogging towards the origin of the sound. Not knowing what to expect, Wraith drew his blaster pistols and took point alongside Ahsoka as the group moved to investigate. "It could be one of the prisoners they were dropping off." She continued as they paused just outside the cloud of smoke.

"Let's hope so." Wraith rumbled, pistols raised but not pointed. From within the wreckage, a tall figure, one even taller than Wraith, stood up and slowly walked out of the smoke, approaching the group.

"What is that?" O-Mer wondered, a little fearful. No one responded as the being emerged into the moonlight, revealing a tall and very hairy beast of a person. Ahsoka and Wraith recognized it instantly.

"It's a wookiee..." The Togruta stated, a little awed by what she was seeing. Said Wookiee growled in reply, speaking in his native tongue.

"Makes sense. Trandos and Wookiees hate each other, they'd obviously want one for a sport hunt." Wraith mused as he stowed his weapons. The Wookiee wuffled something in response which Wraith made to translate for the others. "His name... it's-"

"Chewbacca." Ahsoka finished, earning a rather surprised look from Wraith.

"You speak Shyriiwook?" He wondered. She turned to him with an equally surprised look.

"So do you, apparently." She replied. Wraith lightly chuckled.

"You continue to impress me, my dear." He stated.


Chewbacca the Wookiee accompanied the group back to their tree hideout, joining them without hesitation.

"Chewbacca, does anyone even know you were taken?" O-Mer inquired as they sat around a fire. Chewbacca replied, speaking in Shyriiwook which Wraith translated.

"No, but his homeworld, being Kashyyyk, isn't far from here." He said.

"That's great, but it might as well be Coruscant as far as I'm concerned. We've got no ship." Jinx replied in complaint. Chewbacca suddenly stood up and growled something a Jinx, making obvious hand gestures as he did.

"Calm down, ya walking carpet!" Wraith rumbled, advising the Wookiee to have a seat. But there was something to his words that Ahsoka immediately picked up on.

"He thinks he can contact his home planet if we can find a way to transmit a signal." She told them. O-Mer suddenly turned to Wraith.

"Wait, you have a ship, why didn't you do that to begin with?!" He demanded.

"My comms are all specially designed to run through specific Separatist frequencies. Any communication I make is monitored, so you can imagine what my superiors would think if they picked up a broadcast to the Republic through my tech." Wraith replied. "As much as I wanted to, it was an impossibility. But, I think this Wookiee might be on to something."

"Right... and how would we do that? Send smoke signals? We don't exactly have a transmitter lying around, if you haven't noticed." Jinx asked in a snarky, pessimistic tone. Wraith rolled his eyes as Chewbacca wuffled something further. Wraith turned to him as he realized what the Wookiee was saying.

"The wreckage? You can build one out of what's left of the ship." He said aloud. Chewbacca nodded.

"That might actually work!" Ahsoka realized, beaming with hopefulness.

"Well, we can't just sit here and wait for the Trandoshans to find us." O-Mer agreed. Jinx sighed.

"Fine. We'll do it the Wookiee way." He relented.


The next night...

The group of five carefully and quietly returned to the beach and the crashed dropship. Crouching in the brush, it appeared the place was devoid of any Trandoshan guards. But none of them were up for taking chances.

"Wraith, Chewbacca and I will go ahead and scout the wreckage. You two stay here and signal us if you spot anything." Ahsoka instructed the younglings. With that, the group split up, Jinx and O-Mer finding a hiding spot while the other three quickly crept into the wreckage of the ship. The wove their way through the shorn and twisted metal ruins, trying to find the remnants of the bridge and its instrumentation equipment. But as they searched, the low humming of a hover pod in the area forced them to take cover. "Get back! It's a patrol." Ahsoka hissed. Pressed up against a piece of metal, she, Wraith and Chewbacca watched as a spotlight passed overhead, continuing to comb the grounds.

"Want me to take it out?" Wraith wondered.

"Not yet. Let's make sure it's the only one around." Ahsoka replied. Once the hover pod had disappeared, the trio slipped inside the wreck. "Hopefully that patrol won't be back for a while." Ahsoka mused.

"I'll let you know if it does." Wraith replied, adjusting his proximity sensors. Chewbacca started searching for pieces of tech he could use to construct a transmitter.

"What are we looking for?" Ahsoka asked him as Chewbacca ripped off a tangling circuit board. The Wookiee growled something in response as he moved from one side of the ship to the other, grabbing pieces as he went. "Are you still feeling optimistic about making a transmitter out of this junk?" She wondered. Chewie barked in response.

"If anyone can do it... well, anyone apart from me, that is, I bet it's him." Wraith remarked.

"You can build a transmitter out of a ruin ship?"

"During my early years, I built a sonic grenade out of a rusty rations can and a pin." Wraith responded with crossed arms, taking pride in that fact. Ahsoka looked at him quizzically with a raised eye-marking.

"Seriously?" She wondered, not believing him.

"No. I was kidding." Wraith truthfully replied. "The only thing I have built from scratch are these." He stated, hoisting a chain blade out from its sheath in the tail of his duster.

The two continued to wait as Chewbacca fetched part after part, throwing wires, plating and circuitry into a box he had found. After a few more minutes, Ahsoka decided they needed to go.

"We better get going before that patrol comes back." She stated. Chewie picked up his box and followed her out of the ruined bridge, as did Wraith. As they picked their way through the ruins, they soon made it to the short path back to the jungle brush.

A wide open stretch of ground where anyone could easily strike them.

"It looks like it's clear." Ahsoka reported as she scanned the area before stepping out into the moonlight. Chewbacca wuffled in disagreement, hesitant to continue until they were absolutely certain there were no Trandoshans around.

"We have to take a chance." Wraith told him, following Ahsoka. As he did, his proximity sensors beeped a warning and he dashed to Ahsoka's side, blocking her body as a sniper shot ricocheted off his armor.

"Sniper! Get down!" She cried as she dove back behind a piece of metal, Chewbacca following suit with a bark that translated 'See? I warned you!' "Wraith, where did that come from?" Ahsoka asked.

"I'm triangulating it now!" He quickly replied, pinging his sensors for a better look. His HUD soon revealed to him a tussle going on between not one but three targets and he drew a conclusion. "Jinx and O-Mer... they're fighting it now!" He exclaimed, vaulting their cover and sprinting towards the position of the younglings. Ahsoka and Chewbacca took flight behind him, Wraith sprinting like mad as his thermal sensors picked up a knife-wielding Trandoshan hovering over the downed younglings. With a roar of his own, Wraith launched forward and speared the Trandoshan from behind, knocking the wind from his lungs and the knife from his hand. The Trando hit the ground hard only for Wraith to roll him over and deliver two hard punches across his face before gripping his throat tight and pointing a deployed arm blade dangerously close to his face. But before he could plunge it through, Jinx called out to him.

"Wait! We should take him prisoner!" He suggested. Wraith paused, turning to see if Ahsoka felt likewise.

"Alright. Wraith, bring him back." She ordered. With a nod, the super-soldier retracted his weapon and forced the Trando to his feet, bending one arm behind the lizard's back.

"One wrong bark for help and you're history... ya readin' me, scale-belly?" He growled. The Trandoshan could only hiss in response as Wraith led him into the jungle alongside his group.


Back in the tree hideout, Wraith properly bound the Trandoshan before shoving him to his knees with another stern warning. Chewbacca quickly assembled his transmitter and powered it up as Ahsoka looked on.

"How's it going, Chewbacca?" She wondered as sounds and lights began to radiated from the device. Chewie growled in response as he fully powered up his creation. "Is it working?"

"Looks like something's working." O-Mer commented over his shoulder. But after only a few seconds, the transmitter fizzled and shut down, Chewbacca howling in frustration as smoke poured from the device.

"We've got a prisoner, we should be using him to our advantage while we have the chance." Jinx stated.

"I thought the prisoner was the backup plan?" Ahsoka replied in a questioning tone.

"It's clear enough we cannot rely on that device." Jinx shot back, deeming their attempt a failure. Chewbacca howled in retort. "No offence," Jinx quickly added, "but we just can't sit here any longer."

"We should wait." Ahsoka retorted, determined to give the transmitter another shot. She and Wraith had some technical knowhow, maybe they could fix it.

"I... agree with Jinx." O-Mer spoke up. "We have to act while we have an advantage."

"Let's say we do it your way, what's the plan then?" Ahsoka asked.

"We can use the prisoner to trick the enemy into flying one of their pods down to us. Then we hijack the pod, fly up to their base and take them by surprise." Jinx emphatically explained.

"And if the Trandos see right through your ruse and simply kill him before the pod shows up?" Wraith wondered, mouthguard now retracted. "Something tells me these lousy Huttspawns don't really care for one another like we do. And aren't you forgetting the fact that they outnumber you almost ten to one?" He added.

"That's... That's where you come in." Jinx quickly replied after some hesitation, clearly making up the plan as he went along.

"Really? Explain." He replied, crossing his arms and waiting. Jinx scrambled to come up with something, but those variables escaped him entirely.

"Well, you see... I... We'll... Maybe we could..." He stuttered, really having nothing to say. From his corner the Trandoshan snickered.

"It is useless to try anything. You're all bound to die here. No one's coming for you and you're not leaving here alive! Your 'desinty' is to wind up as trophies on our wall." He hissed with a chuckle. Wraith paused as he considered Jinx's plan, while the younglings were suddenly disheartened. He made a few mental amendments to it and realized that there was a way to do it... a much safer way, that is.

"Your heart's in the right place." He told Jinx. "But I've got a better idea." Chewbacca wuffled something in response.

"Yeah, you're right. We have to make use of 'scale-belly' somehow." Ahsoka agreed with a smirk. The Trandoshan hissed in response.

"I dare you to say that to my face, furball!" He spat, followed up with a throaty, threatening growl. Suddenly turned around, the lizard found himself looking up into Wraith's dark and terrifying form, partially concealed by dancing shadows with only his optics gleaming brightly. Wraith bent over, close to the lizard's face and let out a quiet, threatening growl of his own, one noticeably deeper than the Trandoshan's. The lizard whimpered out of fear as the super-soldier's hand curled around his neck, the others watching with piqued fascination.

"Where. Is. The lodge?" He growled.


The next day...

"Let me get this straight. Your plan is to check out their base from the ground and then go ahead with Jinx's plan?" Ahsoka wondered as she and Wraith traversed through the jungle.

"It's simple reconnaissance, a basic military procedure. We find out what we're up against and that'll help us when we go on the offensive." He replied. "It's better than flying in blind, as Jinx recommended." He added as he leapt over a branch, Ahsoka hot on his heels. "Now, that Trando said the base follows a linear path, sweeping back and forth across this island. So based on its position the last time we saw it..." He parted some of the jungle brush, stepped forward into a small web of thick branches and looked up, "it should be right here." Ahsoka stood beside him and looked up.

Low and behold, there it was.

Floating several hundred feet off the ground, the guild lodge stood set against the cloudy sky, looking mighty and somewhat impenetrable. The massive structure was quite the sight for the two of them, who had only ever seen it once.

"Nice work, Wraith." Ahsoka complimented. "So, now what?"

"Now I take a few scans and see what my tech tells us." The super-soldier explained, reaching up to the side of his helmet and adjusting his HUD. Electromagnetic, thermal, electrical as well as a variety of other specialized sensors swept over the base, feeding back a plethora of telltale information that Wraith received through his optics. "Looks like it has next to no built-in defensive capabilities... apart from the dozens of Trandoshans already on board."

"Great. Well, I guess that makes it a matter of manpower over firepower, right?" Ahsoka asked. Wraith nodded.

"Correct, my dear." He affirmed. "We get on board and thin their numbers, then the day will be ours."

"Easier said than done, right?"

"Not necessarily." Wraith replied, turning to her. "After all, you have me."

"Let's hope you're enough." Ahsoka joked with a smirk. As she was speaking, Wraith's proximity sensors alerted him to movement aboard the base. Moments later, the thrum of repulsor tech reverberated through the air around them.

"Hover pods! Get down!" He exclaimed, both of them diving underneath the branch they were on. Ahsoka clung to the underside of the branch with Wraith right behind her, protecting her from any immediate assault. As they did, the humming grew louder as one of the Trandos' hunter platforms flew past over head. It started circling the area as a second one joined it. Wraith quickly determined that they had either been spotted or the Trandos were using this area as a staging ground. Clinging to the underside of the branch, Wraith and Ahsoka waited with baited breath for the Trandoshans to leave. As they did, a line of insects crawled past them on the wood they clung to. It was a very close encounter that made Ahsoka, the closest to them, a little uncomfortable.

Such feelings were heightened when the bugs started crawling up her leg.

Looking to Wraith with a nervous look in her eyes, the super-soldier gestured for her to remain still. She could feel them crawling up her leg and it wasn't a pleasant feeling. Ahsoka fought back the urge to act, calming herself with the Force and trying to ignore the feeling of thousands of tiny legs working their way up her. She closed her eyes, trying to focus and forcing back an outburst of any kind.

Mercifully, the pods were soon on their way.

As soon as they were out of sight, Wraith began swatting the bugs off Ahsoka's leg, brushing them away as quickly as possible, starting low and working his way up. As he brushed off the last few, his hand accidentally passed under her skirt, where it momentarily settled on her hip. He froze as he realized his mistake, but couldn't move his hand fast enough. He managed to feel the waistband of her underwear as well as the skin of her upper thigh before he quickly retracted his limb. "I'm sorry... I... I never meant to-" He tried to say.

"I-I-It's okay." Ahsoka quickly responded, her face bright red and montrals very dark. "I know what you were trying to do."

"Just trying to be helpful..." He mumbled, apologizing again.

"Yeah... thanks." Ahsoka replied, now feeling a little flustered as her heart pulsed much faster. "Let's... L-Let's get back to the others."


Journeying back to the crashed dropship, Wraith and Ahsoka met up with O-Mer, Jinx and Chewbacca, who was currently guarding their Trandoshan prisoner. But before they linked back up with the others, Wraith had made a decision concerning their next course of action.

"Ahsoka," he spoke her name, causing the Togruta to turn around. He extended his hand to her, in it, the hilt of Tyth, "here." He offered. Ahsoka recognized the tool but didn't quite two and two together yet.

"Your firesaber?" She wondered.

"I know it's not what you're used to, but I trust you with it." Wraith replied, silently hinting at the fact that he wished to see her protected and able to defend herself. Ahsoka understood and, while it wasn't what she was used to, she readily accepted the weapon.

"Okay." She agreed, taking it from him. But after holding it for barely two seconds, a reaction kicked in. "Ow ow OW!" Ahsoka cried out as she suddenly dropped the hilt, shaking her hand while grasping it.

"Are you alright?!" Wraith asked worriedly.

"That thing... it's hot to the touch!" Ahsoka explained, examining her hand for fear of a burn. "Scalding even..." She muttered, looking down at the silver hilt lying on the sandy ground. "How do you hold it?" She earnestly wondered, looking up at Wraith. The super-soldier was thoroughly confused.

"It's not scalding." He answered and, pulling off his glove, he scooped up his weapon with his bare hand, holding it tightly for Ahsoka to see. "There, you see? It's actually kinda cold. Feels just like regular metal." Now it was Ahsoka's turn to look confused.

"When I picked it up it felt like it was red-hot." She replied, flexing her hand as the pain of intense heat finally wore off. Wraith glanced at the weapon in his hand.

"Curious..." He quietly mumbled, deciding he might have to do some research after this was over. "Maybe you should just stick to using the Force." He decided, stowing the hilt behind him. Ahsoka agreed but was still disappointed to not be wielding a weapon.

"I feel naked without my lightsabers." She commented.

"Please tell me you're wearing something under your skirt this time..." Wraith asked, half-joking. Ahsoka shot him a look. "What? It's an honest question based on prior experience." He replied.

"I would think you would know the answer to that... after feeling me up and all." She shot back.

"Again, that was unintentional. I apologize." He stated. Without another word, they continued on, eventually meeting up with the others and arriving at the beach.

"Alright, we better get started." Ahsoka stated, knowing it was now or never.

"Right... time to call your friends." Jinx instructed the Trandoshan. The reptilian hissed.

"I'm not helping you, welp." Well, that wouldn't do at all.

"Chewbacca, we need him at eye-level, please." Ahsoka asked, the Wookiee promptly forcing the Trandoshan to his knees. Jinx walked right up to their prisoner and waved his hand.

"You will listen to me." He stated. Wraith recognized the attempted Force mind-trick. The Trandoshan merely chuckled in reply.

"No I won't." He growled. Chewie promptly punched him in the head as Jinx focused and tried again, speaking slower this time.

"You will listen to me." He said. After a moment, the Trandoshan complied.

"I will listen to you." He answered, rather hypnotically.

"You were our captive, but now you've escaped." Jinx continued.

"I was your captive, but now I've escaped." The Trando repeated.

"You need to call a speeder to pick you up." Jinx said as he removed the lizard's bonds.

"I need to call a speeder to pick me up." The Trandoshan replied, still in a hypnotic, trance-like state. He reached for the communicator on his arm and opened a channel, another Trandoshan's voice coming through.

"Smug. Where have you been?" It asked.

"I need a speeder to pick me up." 'Smug' repeated as Jinx waved his hand again, as if to make sure. The comm ended as Wraith leaned over to Ahsoka.

"He tries anything, I'm shooting him." He stated in a hushed whisper.

"Have a little faith in the Force, Wraith." She replied.

Setting into motion the next phase of their plan, the group left the Trandoshan where he was and waited for the pod to arrive, making him look like he was alone as they hid in the jungle. Soon enough, a hover pod arrived, piloted by a white-scaled Trandoshan who landed right in front of his comrade.

"Get in. Let's go." He stated. At that moment, Ahsoka initiated their next move.

"Now!" She called. Bursting from his hiding place, Wraith fired two shots, one from each blaster, and downed the Trandoshans with quick and simple headshots. From there, the Jedi used the Force to move the bodies as O-Mer took control of the transport. They all climbed on as the pod started to move, Wraith stopping as his gaze lingered on Ahsoka. Now without the hinderance of jungle foliage to block out the sun, he got a really good look at just how dirty she was. Her face was so dirt smeared he had a hard time picking out her facial markings.

"What?" She wondered, catching his stare.

"I never realized it until now in broad daylight," He mused, retracting his mouthguard, "you, my dear, are in bad need of a shower." He responded. Ahsoka chuckled out loud.

"Tell me about it." She agreed.


They flew the craft up to the guild's lodge, following Wraith's direction. With all of them ready for a fight, they wasted no time attacking the two Trandoshans out on the landing pad. Ahsoka and Jinx subdued them with quick Force-enhanced moves as Wraith and Chewbacca jumped in as well, Chewie throwing one of them off the side as the other managed to bark for help.

"Sithspit..." Wraith rumbled, "we're gonna have company." Dozens of Trandoshans started pouring out of the interior, armed with weaponry of all kinds. "Everyone behind me! Use the Force to relieve them of their blasters!" Wraith called, triggering his protective field. From above, a white-scaled Trandoshan looked on with malice in his gaze.

"Kill them! I want their skins!" He shouted. The Trandoshans promptly opened fire, red blaster rounds striking his shield from all angles. The Jedi quickly forced their weapons to the side, buying Chewbacca enough time to move into position behind another hover pod. Drawing his carbine, Wraith opened fire on the distracted Trandoshans, expending the last of the energy cell within as he drew the fire of those outside while O-Mer strafed the rest with his pod's weapons. It was then that more Trandoshans started to appear on the upper levels, some manning the defensive rotary turrets positioned there. "Get to cover!" Wraith shouted, stowing his now-drained carbine. Unfortunately, the gunner quickly managed to strafe O-Mer with a barrage of shots, disabling the hover pod and send it crashing down into the chaos below. Everyone dived for cover as the pod crashed into another, both of them erupting in smoke and fire. O-Mer and the others recovered, but the Trandoshans recovered even quicker and soon had the downed company at blaster point.

By this point, Wraith had seen enough lizards to last him a life time.

He quickly stood, earning the attention of the reptilian hunters. With half a dozen weapons now trained on him, Wraith rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. "Try it. I dare you." He growled. The Trandos obliged him, cackling gleefully as they unloaded their weapons into him.

But every shot merely bounced off his armor.

The startled hunters looked on, now bearing expression of mixed surprise and fright as Wraith started to advance upon them. His allies watched as Wraith strode past them, not fazed in the slightest by those firing on him. The Trandos backed away from him, still firing as they vainly tried to do something. Wraith cornered one Trando up against the railing, swatting his weapon out of his had before delivering a swift gut-punch, followed up with a heavy right cross and grabbed the Trandoshan, throwing him tot he ground. Wraith looked up and registered the terrified looks of unease on the other hunter's faces. "Do you know what a real hunting trophy looks like?" He asked them. When none of them replied, he stooped down and plunged his hand into the fallen Trandoshan's back, tearing out the lizard's spine as the hunter screamed. The Jedi and Chewbacca looked on with wide eyes, appalled by Wraith's gratuitous display of ultra-violence. Finally tearing off his head as well, Wraith held the head and spine in his hand as he eyed the petrified Trandoshans before him. "Now this... is a trophy." He growled, gesturing to his gruesome acquisition. "And judging from the number of you here, I'm gonna have a lot of them by the time I'm finished here." Tossing the head to the side, Wraith triggered his armblades and rushed the Trandoshans with a mighty roar. More red rounds pelted his armor as he waded into the midst of them like death on the move, hacking this way and that.

For the first time ever, Jinx, O-Mer and Chewbacca got to see The Wraith unleashed.

The super-soldier ripped through the Trandoshans without hesitation, dismembering them and tearing them apart as he thinned their numbers in droves. Impaling one against the wall, his free arm blade slit open his torso, his innards falling to the ground. Attacking another Trandoshan, Wraith beheaded him before turning and bisecting another, his swords and arms quickly becoming covered with green blood. By the time he was finished, only portions of their corpses remained. Deactivating his blades, Wraith looked up as the sound of blasters powering up caught his attention. A plethora of Trandoshans now had their rifles trained on them as well as every rotary cannon they could point in his direction. At the front of the pack, the same white-scaled Trandoshan from earlier started to speak.

"A valiant effort, younglings. Especially you, Togruta." He growled, mocking them as his gaze landed on Ahsoka. "You will be a prized trophy in my collection." Frowning beneath his mask, Wraith took up his own address.

"Garnac, right?" He wondered aloud. "You're one ugly motherkriffer." He jeered.

"And who are you supposed to be?!" Garnac asked. "The one who thinks he can do as he pleases on my island, during my hunt."

"If you didn't want to mess with me, then you should've left her alone." Wraith declared in response, gesturing to Ahsoka. "As for who I am... I... am the man who shattered your son's ribcage before ensuring his demise on that bed of thorns." He revealed. The spines atop Garnac's head stiffened and he hissed most violently at Wraith's words. "And I enjoyed every second of it...!" Wraith growled in addition. That was enough to push Garnac over the edge.

"Kill them! Kill them all!" He shouted to his men. But as he finished, a loud thrumming interrupted him, coming from above. Wraith and the others looked up, Chewbacca barking in excitement as a dropship appeared, carrying an arsenal of Wookiee warriors who howled on arrival.

"Looks like that transmitter worked after all!" Wraith called to Chewie, he flashed him a quick grin. The Trandoshans quickly attacked their age-old enemies as the Wookiees dropped down from above. The Jedi quickly scrambled to their feet and rejoined Wraith as the Wookiees went on the offensive. As Wraith watched the scene, he suddenly saw Ahsoka vaulting up to the top level and giving chase after Garnac. "Ahsoka!" He called after her, quickly firing his grapple and racing up to the top.

It was dangerous for her to go after him alone.

Vaulting up to the top level, Wraith quickly bashed a Trandoshan in the head and sent him sprawling... as well as two, silver, cylindrical objects that Wraith immediately recognized...

Entering Garnac's chambers, Wraith was treated to the unwelcome sight of the Trandoshan hunter throwing Ahsoka around, his brute strength enough to overwhelm some of her more agile attacks. Grabbing Ahsoka roughly by the neck, Garnac slammed Ahsoka into the wall repeatedly until she stopped struggling for a moment.

"Now... for your skin to adorn my wall!" The Trandoshan hissed. Suddenly, Wraith's arm blade appeared and cut clean through both of Garnac's extended arms, severing them completely. The Trandoshan screamed in pain as he backed away, his arms reduced to bleeding stumps as Ahsoka hit the ground. Wraith walked up with blade extended.

"She's never going on anyone's wall... ever!" He growled threateningly, his blade disappearing back into his gauntlet. Turning to Ahsoka, Wraith helped her up, Garnac not a problem any longer. "Are you well?"

"I've had worse." She replied, rubbing her neck and kicking away one of Garnac's severed limbs. "So... what do we do with him?"

"Whatever we choose." Wraith replied, retracting his mouthguard. "Although, I must admit, I was thoroughly impressed by your ability to kill Warden Sobeck." He added.

"You think I'm gonna kill him now while he's helpless?"

"If you wish, especially after he killed Kalifa." Ahsoka paused and thought that over, eyeing the kneeling Garnac as she juggled the decision in her head.

"Jedi don't wish revenge on anybody. Or, at least, they're not supposed to." She finally answered.

"I won't argue with that." Wraith replied. Then he reached into his jacket. "Here. Hopefully you won't feel too... exposed any longer." He said, presenting her lightsabers to her. Ahsoka brightened immediately as she took them, the smooth metal hilts feeling quite grand back in her grip.

"Thank you Wraith." She whispered with a big smile. Wraith returned it.

"Gah... you two are making me sick..." Garnac muttered. Wraith turned back to him, now frowning.

"You know what's gonna be even more sick?" He asked him, drawing Tyth and igniting it. The blade of bright red flame caught Garnac's eye immediately and the Trando looked up as Wraith stepped closer to him. "What I'm gonna do to you for kidnapping her..." He growled.


Later...

With the hunting guild dead and disposed of, the Wookiees thanked the Jedi for aiding Chewbacca and promised to give them all a lift back to Coruscant. As Jinx and O-Mer received some long overdue medical treatment, Wraith and Ahsoka talked off to the side.

"So you're good to go?" He asked her.

"Yeah, the Wookiees are gonna take us back to Coruscant. Also, I happen to know the pilot who flies that dropship. She's a friend." Ahsoka replied. Wraith nodded.

"I see. Then it appears my work here is done." He mused.

"Yeah. Hey, thanks again for... everything." She said in the most sincere voice she could muster. Wraith took her hand in his and kissed the back of it.

"Anything for you, my dear." He replied. Ahsoka smiled and made to leave, but stopped when she realized that Wraith was still rooted to the spot, his gaze tracking her. Ahsoka looked him up and down before returning to him.

"You look like you want something." She commented.

"I suppose that's because I do." He answered. Reaching into his jacket, Wraith withdrew a small holocommunicator that Ahsoka had seen some senators and other Jedi carry around. "I've encrypted this communicator and programmed it with a direct line to my personal frequency. If you ever feel the pain or the need to cut again, I want you to call me." He explained. Pressing it into her hand, he closed her fingers around it before clasping her hand with both of his. His crimson optics locked with hers and Ahsoka could imagine the amber, reptilian eyes behind them looking back at her. "You are not alone in this. Not any more." He whispered. "I'm here for you... I care about you." Although uncertain about broaching this topic again, Ahsoka nodded and tucked the device into her belt.

"Okay." She agreed. Wraith nodded and closed up his mouthguard.

"Farewell Ahsoka. Until next time." He said, bidding her farewell before turning and sprinting to the edge of the platform, leaping over the edge and disappearing into the jungle below...

Returning to his shuttle, Wraith stepped inside the craft and sat down with a sigh. It felt good to be back in familiar territory and no doubt his hyperdrive had cooled off by now. As he leaned back into his seat, he put in a call to Scipio. "Doc, you there?"

"My boy, where in the universe are you?!" Scipio exclaimed in response. "You are well overdue and were supposed to be back days ago!" Having anticipated this kind of reaction, Wraith calmly recalled the story he'd been rehearsing.

"Yeah, about that... I happened to touch down on Wasskah, Trandosha's moon. I ran into some lizards while I was waiting for the hyperdrive to cool off and of course these things don't speak a lick of Basic and want to pin my duster to their wall. So you could imagine how busy I've been." He explained. Scipio fell silent for a moment as he realized there was a logical excuse.

"Oh... well... when you put it that way..." He replied, trailing off. "Are you well?" He wondered.

"I'm fine. Them, not so much." Wraith reported as eased his ship into the air.

"Well, that's good to hear. I trust you'll be back soon then?"

"Indeed I will."

"Count Dooku has called, he needs you to head to Felucia as soon as possible. Republic forces have overrun our position there." Scipio then informed him.

"I-... Why can't we ever hold on to that world?" The super-soldier wondered, feigning exasperation. Wraith was about to say 'I suspected as much', recalling what Ahsoka had told him, but quickly caught himself and said otherwise to keep up the ruse that he was alone here. "Alright, I'll be on my way as soon as I resupply. It's like these things like to eat my ammo or something..."


Author's Note: I just want all of you to know that I don't take this lightly. This is a serious issue and I will endeavour to handle it with care. Also, if any of you out there, reading this, are struggling with something similar, please shoot me a PM and talk to me. You don't have to be alone.