Author's Note: Hope I haven't kept you waiting too long... if I have, here's Part 2! Word of warning, the hard M-rating is still in effect for this chapter... because slavery and Zygerrian cruelty. So buckle up and you have been warned!
-Chapter 106: A Man Among Monsters-
Location: Zygerria/Kadavo
"When pushed too far, a man will push back and push back hard."
The next morning...
Wraith latched his gauntlet into place, fully dressed in his armor. Queen Scintel had summoned him for a quick debrief, disturbing the best sleep he'd had in a while. He'd made sure the holocom was set to voice only, ensuring that the sleeping Ahsoka in bed with him would not be seen. He hated to get up, especially to bend to the will of these people, but he did have an appearance to maintain.
Ahsoka adjusted her costume around her, considering it was the only set of clothes she had on hand. She wished for her regular clothes, as well as her lightsaber. She wasn't quite sure where it was after she'd blacked out, but could only assume it was in someone else's hands. Someone who didn't want her to have it.
"I'll see if I can glean some information out of today, I'll let you know what I come up with." Wraith promised, checking over his helmet.
"I'll take information, but we need action." Ahsoka replied. She was feeling plenty invigorated after last night and was ready to do something. "They're my people, Wraith. I can't just sit here." She stated and Wraith could sense just how passionate she was about this. He understood entirely.
"I know and I promise to help. However, I must still carry out my orders to assist Scintel and her court, or at least act like it." He responded. "Give me some time."
"I can't just sit around and wait! I have to do something!" Ahsoka exclaimed. Wraith grinned, anticipating her response.
"I know, so let's take things one step at a time. There's a projector on the table in the lounge." He told her. "It just so happens to have a map of the palace and the Kadavo processing facility. Memorize it." He instructed, glowing a little as he watched Ahsoka's eyes light up. "But, uh, you stole it from me." He added with a wink. She understood. "One more thing," he added, drawing her attention, "I know what I said about the collar last night, but it might be best if you wear it. Just in case anyone decides to show up while I'm gone." He suggested. "We can't exactly let 'us' be discovered."
"Good point." Ahsoka agreed. Now where had that thing gone after he'd thrown it aside last night...? "Hurry back so I can take it off." She called as Wraith made to leave.
"Hopefully that won't be the only thing you take off." He responded slyly. Her embarrassed laugh echoed as Wraith entered the hall, donning his helmet with a grin. Today might be a good day, he reasoned. After all, Ahsoka was with him now.
But things were about to get a lot worse as the day wore on...
Venturing through the many corridors down to the throne room, Wraith soon found himself in the presence of Queen Scintel and, surprisingly, Anakin Skywalker. The Jedi was off to one side, arms crossed and looking none too pleased. Scintel offered the approaching Wraith a smile.
"Good morning, super-soldier. Thank you for your promptness." She greeted.
"Your highness." Wraith simply acknowledged with a tilt of his head. He turned to Anakin. "Skywalker." The Jedi glared at him.
"I should've known you would be here." He grumbled. "It's just like you Separatists."
"There's no need to pester my guest, Skywalker." Scintel chided. But Wraith ignored her and carried on the conversation.
"You presume much but know little." He replied. "You draw conjectures based solely upon opinions and irrational, emotional responses. You don't know for certain why I'm here."
"By all means, prove me wrong." Anakin bit back. And Wraith knew he was boxed. "And by the way, you had better not lay a finger on Ahsoka!" The Jedi gruffly added.
"She'll be fine, Skywalker. Let's be honest, my hands are probably the safest ones she could be in around here." Wraith stated, waving him off.
"I'd prefer it if your hands weren't anywhere near her." Anakin retorted. "Scum like you aren't worthy of her attention."
"Boy, someone's in a mood." Wraith observed, crossing his arms. "Experiencing flashbacks to your youth, by chance?" Anakin's frown deepened and Wraith could vaguely sense a very tangible hatred emanating from the Jedi. He seemed to have struck a nerve. "I could say anything about not wanting to be a part of this either, but you wouldn't believe me. not right now, at least. I'll be sure to try again when you're in a better mood."
"Nothing you say could ever change my mind." Anakin growled.
"That is enough, Skywalker." Scintel stepped in, ordering a ceasefire between them. "Your feelings for Wraith have been noted, so I shall send him far away." She continued, getting down to business. "Soldier, I want you to oversee Kenobi's subjugation. The sooner one Jedi bends beneath our heel, the sooner the rest will be just as compliant." That sounded simple enough and shouldn't take him long... considering he wanted nothing to do with Kadavo. His mouthguard closed up.
"See you 'round, Skywalker." He offered as he departed.
Kadavo was an ashen, volcanic world. The air was filled with the thick stench of sulphur and other minerals. Grey skies and grey terrain stretched on for miles, the Zygerrian Processing Facility (which hovered over and active volcano), the sole change in the landscape on all of Kadavo.
Wraith's vessel touched down just outside the compound, on the same landing pad that had delivered Obi-Wan and Rex just the other day. He emerged alone, a pair of guards stiffening in salute as he passed them by. The path he walked led him past two pits filled with Kiros colonists, dozens of them forced to stand in place for hours on end, yet another torturous effort to break their already docile will. He'd been this way before, yet was not quite numb to what happened. Some looked up at him, offering simple glares before turning their gazes back down. Wraith could sense the hatred stemming from each one of them and his pace slowed as he surveyed the men and the women. He'd promised them safety and security, and they'd listened to him. But instead, he'd delivered them to hell and all fifty-thousand of them suffered as a result. It pained him every time, the guilt and the despair washing over him anew. It was his own torture the Zygerrians inflicted upon him; treating him like one of their own while forcing him to pass by the innocents he'd condemned, every. Damn. Day.
His heart went out to them. He longed to free them. But he could not. Maybe he could enable those who would, though...
"Welcome super-soldier!" The booming voice of Keeper Agruss greeted him. His crimson gaze turned up to meet the portly Zygerrian.
"Agruss. Her majesty wishes for a report on the Jedi Kenobi." Wraith replied.
"So soon? He has been here for barely a day!" Agruss exclaimed, rather bewildered by the royal request.
"I thought so too." Wraith agreed, marching up to stand by his side. "Tell me what you do know, then."
"It is too early to tell if his will has crumbled, but I believe he's getting the message." Agruss revealed, leading Wraith inside.
They descended to the lower levels, where machines processed raw ores to be smelted down and converted into ingots that would be refined and turned into a multitude of devices and objects that would further Zygerrian culture. The smelters and machines had driven the temperature high, Wraith's HUD registering a noticeable spike upon arrival. They emerged into a dark place, lit by the deep red fires of the smelters that bathed everything in a hellish glow.
But what struck him first were the screams.
One after another, male and female, coming from all corners of the plant. Wraith wasn't sure if they were wrought from torment brought on by the guards or inflicted by crushing machinery.
Yes... this place was hell. And Agruss was its devil.
He followed his hover chair past a row of smelters, each one surrounded by piles of ores and a handful of Togrutans with shovels. None of them looked healthy. They looked exhausted and weak, their conditions harsh and worsening every day. Men and women alike bore harsh scars from the electro-whips as well as signs of other injuries as well. The once vibrant colours of their skin had faded, each one caked with dirt and filth. Wraith could barely walk, barely keep his eyes fixed on anything other than their sufferings. The screaming seemed to amplify the horrendous nature of this place.
He breathed, deeply and repeatedly. He had to focus. He couldn't snap. Not yet at least...
Agruss paused and Wraith stepped to the side, seeing both Obi-Wan and Rex manning shovels alongside other Togruta. Obi-Wan looked as bad as he had yesterday, if not worse. Both him and Rex sported large shock collars around their necks with small amplified running all the way around. Not only could these ones conduct electrical energy, but they could also generate their own. "As you can see, he works diligently. But his spirit is still quite obvious."
"I see." Wraith mused, not particularly caring. "Thank you, Agruss. I'll meet you back at the lift, I need a moment alone with the Jedi."
"Of course." Agruss graciously accepted, moving away as Wraith was left to his own devices.
"Kenobi." He called, forcing the Jedi to turn his way. Wraith retracted his mask and approached him. The heat was intense, now that he could feel it. These defintiely weren't optimal conditions. "Not very ideal, is it?" He stated, not knowing where to start. Kenobi wasn't having the small talk.
"What do you want, Wraith?" He asked, sounding tired.
"Just curious to see how you're faring." Wraith replied.
"It's unlike you to care." Obi-Wan remarked as he stopped and leaned on his shovel. Behind him, Rex kept working, but always had one eye on the interaction.
"Oh, but I do. In this moment, we're more alike than you realize." Wraith responded.
"Really?" Obi-Wan huffed. "I don't exactly see you down here, worked to the bone." His retort was met with a harsh crackle from the whip of a Zygerrian guard beside Wraith.
"Mind your tongue, skug!" He spat. The super-soldier turned, planted a hand on his chest and shoved him back.
"Back off, furball." He rumbled, agitated by the interruption and offering a withering look before he returned to Obi-Wan. "Yeah, these brutes really need to work on their manners. They're not an ideal species by any means." He continued.
"And what does ideal look like to you?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Togruta, for the most part." Wraith replied, prompting a few of the species to glance at him.
"Then you've come to gloat." Obi-Wan extrapolated.
"Hardly." Wraith responded with a shake of his head.
"If you don't mind me saying so, get on with it." Wraith would've loved to, had it not been for the same guard lashing out with his whip again. The tendrils snagged Obi-Wan's collar and delivered a harsh burst of voltage that caused the Jedi to drop to one knee.
"Insubordinate wretch!" He growled.
"Would you stop it! Insufferable cur!" Wraith snapped, his voice loud and imposing. the Zygerrian backed down, reluctantly, and the super-soldier renewed his conversation with the rising Obi-Wan. "As you can see, I'm not their biggest fan, regardless of how others may paint me."
"Could've fooled me." Obi-Wan scoffed, clearly vexed by Wraith's talk. It was then that the guard lashed out one more time, instinctively, hard blows from the whip driving Obi-Wan to the ground.
"Show some respect to your masters!" The guard demanded as he beat the Jedi. Wraith, however, had had enough.
"Oh for kriff sakes!" He thundered, marching right over to the Zygerrian and crushing the hand that held his whip, tearing off two of his fingers in the process. The Zygerrian screamed in pain before Wraith's other hand wrapped around his throat and slammed him into the floor. "Interrupt us one more time and your miserable life will be cut very short! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!" Wraith bellowed, throwing the Zygerrian across the floor. His outburst caused several to stop and look his way, Togruta and Zygerrian alike. Dropping the crushed digits from his hand, Wraith straighted his duster and returned to Obi-Wan with a sigh. "They vex me greatly." He muttered, dropping down and offering the crippled Jedi a hand. Surprised, but grateful, Obi-Wan accepted it.
"What did you want to tell me?" He asked as he was helped up.
"To be ready. When the time is right... you'll know what to do." Wraith responded in a low voice, beyond the hearing of the guards. "Just make sure Rex doesn't fire on me." He added, patting his shoulder. A confused Obi-Wan understood Wraith was speaking in code, but the super-soldier's actions were so out of the ordinary he didn't quite figure out why.
"No promises." He simply responded. Wraith smirked.
"I wasn't expecting any." He offered in parting. Returning the way he came, Wraith received the questions he was expecting when he reconvened with Agruss.
"Some trouble come your way?" He asked as they entered the lift.
"I said I wanted a moment alone. That guard refused to listen." Wraith responded as the door sealed.
"You should see the slave pens, perhaps her majesty would appreciate news as to how they fare as well." Agruss suggested, toggling the lift controls from his chair.
"You mean not all them are kept adjacent to the smelters?" Wraith queried. Agruss did not answer him, and Wraith quickly filed the revelation away for later. He could tell Ahsoka as soon as he returned. Now he just needed to learn where the rest of the Togruta were being kept.
When the lift doors opened again, he had his answer.
The corridor was dark and long, only a few pinpricks of light shone through the tiniest of windows to illuminate the way. As Wraith emerged with Agruss, the super-soldier deactivated his optics and allowed their panel to rise a little, removing the filters in front of his nose. The instant he did, he gagged and nearly wretched.
Having experienced battlefield after battlefield, Wraith was used to the stench of death, of blood, of smoke and fire. But this was a new level of awful. It was like excrement and urine, mixed with mould and decaying organic materials. Nothing was sanitary about it. It was far from the exquisite scents of a flower or forest, like the kind that often filled Scintel's throne room. It reeked of death and injustice.
"The smell does take some getting used to." Agruss chuckled, noting his reaction. "Most of the guards here wear filters."
"I've smelt fresh blood and spilled innards before," Wraith commented, closing his helmet entirely, "this... this is worse." This was slavery. There was nothing to revel in, nothing to glorify. It was cruel and awful right to the core. And to think that these fiends seemed to get off on inflicting such torture upon others... well, Wraith had never wanted to put a species on the 'endangered' list. Until recently, that is.
But so long as his Forcedamned superiors deemed these scum worthy of their attention, he had no choice to submit to his orders.
Scintel was right. He was a slave. Deiven was right. He was just a Clone for the Sith to order about.
He followed Agruss and they started to pass by cell after cell, each one filled to overflowing with Togruta. Some held just men, others just women. There were no beds, no amenities, nothing to aid their discomfort or alleviate their sufferings. Some stood, many lay down, all of them appearing forlorn and broken, the dimness of their colorful skin adding to the despair of their situation. Some looked up to regard him, the light gone from their eyes. Wraith saw recognition, but no hatred like the ones above. Only brokenness and a soul devoid of hope.
This is where the 'processed' slaves went.
He slowed near a cell towards the end of the hall, his optics roaming over the female Togruta within. There was a body that caught his eye, one laying down and looking far smaller than the rest. Wraith quickly ordered the nearest guard to let him in and then stepped past the other female Togruta, approaching the body. Her skin was dirty, eyes closed. His optics registered no heartbeat and his touch picked up no pulse. It was when he knelt and swiped away some dirt that he let out a pained gasp, seeing the diamond-shaped forehead markings set against copper skin.
It was Tyria.
"What happened?" He asked aloud, wondering if anyone could answer him. A feminine voice beside him responded,
"A guard came for her when we arrived. We did not see her again until nightfall. She wept all night and would not sleep." The woman revealed to him. Wraith closed his eyes and fought down a sob. He had a feeling he knew exactly what had happened. "He came for her again the other day, but she tried to resist him and pull away. He started beating her. A blow knocked her into the wall... and she broke her neck." Wraith was speechless. His mind overcome by grief and rage, this senseless cruelty so rampantly wasting innocent lives.
"You... promised her we would return home." Another voice, one full of scorn, told him. Wraith's gaze shifted to the owner. It was Miran, Tyria's mother. he recognized her facial markings. Her eyes were filled with despair and hate, and they were fixed upon him. "You told her she would see her home again. Where are your promises now?" She rasped, looking weak and feeble compared to the last time he saw her. All at once, Wraith felt immense guilt weigh heavily upon his soul, moreso than in days past. His gaze shifted back to Tyria, a young and bright girl who would've surely had a future in her artistic culture. She could've been a name that galaxy would've famously recognized, someone who toured systems to showcase her talents.
And he had condemned her to this fate.
His body trembled as grief filled him entirely. This was never what he wanted, this is not what he had intended for these people. He wanted them safe and out of harms way, not sentenced to this torment. The merciless dogs who ran this place, who could only grumble in annoyance when the spark of life was extinguished... their way of life had no place in the galaxy, and the fury that came with such a notion filled him almost as much as grief had.
He vented some of it by punching clean through the nearby wall.
The imprisoned Togruta were startled by his sudden outburst, watching him closely as his fist pulled back through the shattered durasteel, hand trembling as fury coursed through his veins. He'd made up his mind, The Wraith would not stand idly by and let these injustices continue to unfold.
"Who. Is. This. Guard." Wraith growled in a shaky voice.
Kav poured himself another drink. The liquor was strong and burned, perfect for a guard like himself. He was from Kadavo and was one of the strongest and most brutal guards at the facility, and that was saying something, considering most of the guards in his unit were renown for their brutality and ruthlessness. He was big, easily over six feet tall, with muscles forged from beating slaves on a daily basis. He was home now, back on his native Zygerria, offered some time off after a sudden change in his schedule. He took it, though was starting to miss the routines of Kadavo. There were countless Togrutans who needed to be dealt with and their petrified voices, stemming from his thunderous outbursts, were like a drug he needed another fix of.
His musings were stirred when the Captain of the Guard, Atai Molec, arrived in the barracks.
"Kav, my friend." He greeted warmly.
"Prime Minister!" Kav jumped from his seat.
"No need, my friend, it is Atai for now." Molec responded. He and Kav had been friends for a long time, and while Atai had always outranked him, their friendship extended well beyond ranks. "You are on time off now, yes?" Atai wondered as Kav poured him a drink.
"Yes. Since the Jedi was moved to Kadavo they put a new rotation on." Kav answered. "It's good to be home, but it was so sudden I kind of miss Kadavo."
"You miss processing slaves." Atai replied with a smile, his cup clinking with KAv's before they both drank.
"Yes, that is true." Kav agreed. "So many tail-heads to deal with. I love their compliance, they scare so easily."
"The men and the women, no?" Atai wondered as he drank again. Kav chuckled.
"The women can be loads of fun." He agreed. "There was one skug I was having loads of fun with. Then she put up a fight one day and I broke her neck when I hit her too hard."
"Tsk, too bad. Would've loved to give her a run myself." Molec agreed, suddenly thinking about the particular conquest he had in mind.
"Yeah. We could grab another, but they're all so old and tired." Kav grumbled. The older Togruta were nothing to consider, really. At least in his eyes. His notion sparked an idea within Atai and a sense of devilishness flashed across his eyes.
"Maybe we can." He suggested, earning Kav's curious gaze. "I'm sure you've heard, we subdued some Jedi who were tried to disrupt the auction."
"I did. Jedi, here. It seems ludicrous." Kav responded.
"Yes, but they were handled, so no problem other than rescheduling the auction." Atai dismissed. Then he leaned forward. "But one of them's a Togruta. Probably right up your alley, too." He added in a low tone. That caught Kav's attention.
"Really..." He mused, slowly grinning as he trailed off.
"Yes. A young and nubile thing. Feisty, too." Molec described. He'd wanting to get a crack at processing the Jedi, perhaps now he'd have enough help to do so.
"You know where she is?" Kav queried.
"Her majesty has a guest over, a Separatist soldier. She's up in his quarters, on the upper levels." Molec responded. Kav theorized he knew why and shrugged.
"I suppose he wouldn't mind if we 'borrowed' her... for a few hours." Molec liked his conjecture.
"I must make a call first and then I'll grab some of the others, go get Styr and his men to collect her. We'll meet back in the barracks and you can all make the most of your time off." He instructed downing his drink. Kav nodded and did as well. Then Atai handed him a small control stick. "Take this, it's the control for her shock collar. It may come in handy." Kav nodded and grinned.
Maybe some time off wouldn't be so bad after all...
The maps were complex, Wraith having done a thorough job of studying every single passage while under the guise of securing their interests. Ahsoka was impressed. The map of the Kadavo processing station proved to be the most interesting, considering how she'd never been there before. Given how it seemed like only a handful of the Kiros Togruta were here on Zygerria, Ahsoka assumed that Kadavo was where the rest of them were.
And so she studied. For several hours she poured over the map while Wraith was gone, understanding the layout of each location and memorizing each note Wraith had added. It was monotonous, but if this would help her ensure her people's escape then she would happily spend all day memorizing these maps. She occasionally snacked on pieces of fruit left for Wraith, only to return to her work when she was finished eating. Words like 'Double security measures' and 'door code' became her priority, especially when she got to the lower levels and started studying the larger access hangars, which were big enough to hold a small ship... or a few thousand colonists.
She was forced to stop when she felt something pricking her senses, alerting her to a nearby presence. Someone was close by, not far from Wraith's door... and there was something about them...
Ahsoka suddenly screamed as the collar around her neck electrocuted her, a sustained burst of voltage flooding her body and seizing up her nervous system. She clawed at the device, grit her teeth and tried to pry it off. But the last burst of electricity forced her to black out and she collapsed on the ground, limp and unconscious. A few moments later, a pair of Zygerrians entered the room, Kav and a fellow guard. His eyes leered at Ahsoka and the way she was dressed, appraising her body just like every other slaver.
"Atai was right. She is a nice little skug." He mused.
"Think that super-soldier is around?" His friend wondered as Kav hefted Ahsoka over his shoulder.
"I don't know and I don't care." Kav responded. He had their prize, the girl who would be serving him and Molec and all their friends. "Come on, let's go to the barracks."
He had a name and he had a description. But since the guard called 'Kav' was on temporary leave, there was nothing more he could do.
Wraith returned to the palace feeling sick. Sicker than usual. The death of Tyria weighed heavily upon his soul and he felt completely drained of all energy and motivation. He was not interesting in giving a report to the Queen, nor did he care about her potential reaction. All he wanted was to go back to his room. Maybe talk to Ahsoka. He needed to get this off his chest... but he couldn't just dump it on her...
Every footstep seemed heavy, every inch felt like a mile. Wraith felt disgusted, not just with the Zygerrians but also with himself. He felt devoid of every emotion that drove him to serve the Confederacy. If he was completely honest, he didn't want to serve anything right now. His was a troubled mind and he doubted there was a cure for it.
When he finally did arrive at his room, he entered and pulled off his helmet.
"'Soka?" he wondered, voice strained and tired. There was no response and the lounge was empty, though his projector was right where he'd left it for her. Dropping his helmet on the crunch, Wraith ventured into the bedroom. "Ahsoka?" He wondered again. Still, there was no response. There was no sign of her and Wraith was starting to wonder. He checked the refresher, the only other area in his suite and Ahsoka was not there either. Had Anakin come to get her? Was their plan in motion? No, that couldn't be right. Anakin was by the Queen's side. Unless he somehow managed to slip away.
Worry coursed through his veins, rinsing his tiredness as the desire to feel numb was swiftly replaced with action. Wraith sprang back into the lounge and grabbed his helmet. Scintel had told him when he first arrived of a servant who monitored the hall, who could send messages and fetch him whatever he needed. Hopefully they could provide him with information. His helmet slipped on and he left his room, turning and jogging over to the Theelin cleaning the floor he'd passed only moments ago. "You there." He called, swiftly gaining her attention. "Did you happen to see anyone enter my room?" He urgently asked. The Theelin nodded.
"Yes sir. Some guards came for Queen Scintel's new Jedi slave. They mentioned they were taking her to the barracks for... processing, I believe." She promptly answered. Bewildered, but understanding, Wraith nodded in response.
"Ah. Thank you." He said, quickly moving off down the hall. "The barracks?" He quietly wondered. "The hell...?" The barracks did not sound like where you took a someone you were going to process. But he'd heard the term before, something Scintel and Molec threatened multiple times. "I have a bad feeling about this..." Wraith muttered. Quickening his steps, and suffering from a sudden rise in uneasiness, he jogged his way down the hall.
Ahsoka opened her eyes and felt groggy. She groaned and clutched her head, recalling how her collar and suddenly activated. Was it defective?
No. It wasn't. For as her vision cleared, Ahsoka discovered she was not in Wraith's room but somewhere else... and was lying on a table.
"So... the little skug is finally awake." She knew the Zygerrian accent well by now and turned to see six bare-chested men watching her. Ahsoka was confused, but also wary.
"About time too. You think Atai will mind if we get started without him?" Another asked.
"I don't think so. He likes his girls all ready to go." The first one replied. They shared a collective chuckle, which sounded very ominous to Ahsoka, and she grew even more afraid when they started advancing towards her.
"What are you doing?!" She asked, fighting back the stammer in her voice. One of them grabbed her wrist while another grabbed her leg. "Don't touch me!" She cried, opening her hand as a burst of telekinesis sent the Zygerrians stumbling. The lead one laughed.
"You are a feisty one. We're going to enjoy breaking you down!" He replied, grinning in a way that made Ahsoka even more afraid. Reaching for his waist, Kav took the control switch and pressed the red toggle. Ahsoka was flooded with further pain, her body seizing up as the shock collar electrocuted her while the Zygerrians held her down. Clawed hands gripped her limbs uncomfortably and no matter how much she wanted to, that last shock had robbed her of the ability to struggle...
The barracks were located in a building adjacent to the palace, something Wraith had uncovered while learning the layout of the palace. It would be a ways away and he picked up the pace, speed walking through the levels of the palace. His path led him down to the ground floor where a simple hallway connected the buildings and offered immediate access for guards and palace staff.
It was then that his mind was suddenly assaulted. He felt a pang of sharp pain, followed closely by fear, disgust and unbridled horror. None of these emotions were his own. Wraith paused to steady himself and sort out his mind. And then, the sick feeling rising from the pit of his stomach, Wraith suddenly realized they were stemming from his bond with Ahsoka.
Ahsoka was feeling these things.
Sickness turned to stark fear, and his jog turned into a run and then a sprint as he barreled down the corridor. The emotions acted like a trail for him to follow, growing stronger as he arrived at the entrance. Shoving past the guards on either side, Wraith could feel the sensations grow even more intense. Arriving in the barracks, Wraith was greeted by a long hallway stretching in three different directions. The trail was going faint and he had an idea of where to go, but he needed more. He reached out, trying to determine her location. Something was wrong and he needed to stop it. Now!
"No! Please, no!" That was Ahsoka's voice, flowing through their bond. Wraith surged forward, following the fresh burst that led him onwards. Was it this door? No. He sensed nothing. This one? No. That distant one? Yes.
He never slowed down, picking up even more speed as he tensed himself. "Wraith!" Ahsoka cried, sounding desperate and scared.
Wraith's shoulder made contact with the door first, bending it inwards before his momentum and weight smashed the double doors wide open, tearing them apart as he burst inside slid to a halt. He found himself in a darkened room, naturally lit by a few small windows and decorated with a display of furs covering some tables.
And beside one of the tables, he found a sight that caused the sickness to .
Six half-dressed Zygerrian guards surrounded Ahsoka, who had been pinned to the table by three of them. Wraith didn't need any more evidence to determine just what their 'processing' involved.
His thunderous entrance caused the guards to whirl about, the hair on their bodies standing on end as they suddenly recognized the intruder.
"What the-?!" One started. "What are you doing here? This is for palace guards only!" He demanded.
"It's alright Styr, he's her majesty's guest." Another remarked with a wave of his hand, beckoning him over. "Wanna give us a hand with this skug, super-soldier?" He called to Wraith. "I'm sure you've already had a chance with her. Care to show us how to break a Jedi?" His fellows cackled at the sick attempt at a joke, Wraith feeling a sudden spike in his emotions.
With his own words, he had condemned them all.
Wraith's crimson gaze landed on Ahsoka and he could see the fear and desperation in her eyes, not to mention sense it in heavy pulses through their bond. First Tyria and now these scum would dare to do the same to her?! The thought of these brutes violating his love became the simple nudge that tipped him over the edge as he subconsciously tapped into the Force. An unholy fury, the likes of which he'd never experienced before, came quickly and suddenly, billowing with such frightful speed not even Wraith realized it until he had been overcome. Balling his hands into fists, his face contorted into a snarl.
He didn't so much respond as he did growl, his voice thick with a guttural sound that came from the back of his throat.
These... dogs... were going to die. All of them. Slow... painful deaths...
Wraith stalked towards them and then struck, swiftly and brutally. The nearest Zygerrian he grabbed by the head and slammed his face into his knee before chucking him into the edge of the other table. A large cut was split open across his forehead, a wound Wraith took advantage of as he grabbed the Zygerrian and bashed his head against the table's edge. He did so over and over again, blood painting the flat surface with each hit. He didn't stop, not for a second, viciously bludgeoning the guard repeatedly until flesh gave way to the bone of his skull. Even then he did not stop, not until the bone had cracked and shattered, giving way to brain matter that was promptly splashed across the table with the next brutal smash. The guard had gone limp and Wraith dropped his body, turning to size up the others. The Zygerrians were startled, but also extremely enraged.
"Who do you think you are?" One demanded, clenching his hands. "You'll pay for that!" He added with a growl. Wraith said nothing, raising himself to full height as he towered over the guards. A scared Ahsoka did not move, but kept the confrontation in view. She could feel his anger through the Force, heavy and overwhelming. The normal warmth that emanated from him was now boiling hot and she clutched her head as another wave of unbearable heat flowed across their bond.
"Do I look... like I care...?!" Wraith growled, his demeanour changing from calm and calculating to that of an angry predator. Upon hearing his ragged breathing and growled words, the guards suddenly grew very afraid of him, backing away as Wraith thunderously advanced over to them, his footfalls heavy and loud. Ahsoka's gaze, wide and afraid, watched as the beast that used to be a man lunged ahead and promptly tore into the nearest Zygerrian. His hands passed through his skin and deep into his chest, the guard screaming in pain as Wraith viciously tore him open. Blood spurted wildly as Wraith ripped open a cavity in his chest before plunging his hand back in and tearing out the Zygerrian's heart, promptly crushing the organ in his hand. With his hands stained with blood, Wraith dropped the body and attacked another, striking with lightning-fast precision. Two were down, four more would join them. A third did when Wraith tore off his jaw and his fingers sliced through the skin of his neck, tearing out his throat and esophagus with a shower of blood.
The remaining guards no longer seemed so cocky and arrogant. Now, with wide eyes, open mouths and trembling hands, they appeared to be traumatized more than anything.
A fourth died when Wraith's hands dipped into his chest and forcefully ripped out two ribs, turning them into knives as he stabbed the Zygerrian over and over again, painting his armor and the floor red with hot sticky blood. He impaled one rib through the guard's eye and then snapped his neck with a vicious twist of his head.
Wraith was seething, his anger bolstered by the Force, throwing him into a berserker state. The super-soldier had unwittingly tapped into the Dark Side power of Force Fury; his deep-rooted hatred for these Zygerrians, that had been building up over the course of the past week, was now converted into the most intense rage he'd ever experienced. He was blind to everything else and let his power flow openly, enabling him to move faster and be stronger than ever before, his strength enough to butcher these guards without remorse or a second thought to his actions. But also, and possibly by accident, his hatred was allowed to flow freely through the Force via intense, palpable waves of emotional energy. Ahsoka, directly connected to Wraith, felt these the strongest and was overwhelmed by his ambient hatred, falling unconscious after only a few moments of his bloody rampage.
Wraith could feel nothing else save the burning fire of hatred deep within him, and he exacted it upon the Zygerrians with devastating consequences.
The second last guard was brutally disemboweled by Wraith's crushing, invading hands, his innards gutted from his body as the super-soldier tore him to pieces. His hands stained by their blood, Wraith advanced upon the final guard, heaving and growling like a wild animal. The Zygerrian soon found his head within Wraith's grip and struggled in vain as the super-soldier lifted him off the ground. Wraith then plunged his thumbs into his eyes, the guard screaming in pain as his hands clawed at Wraith's arms trying to free himself. With a furious roar, Wraith tore his head in two, ripping it clean off his body with a burst of blood as brain, bone and pieces of flesh rained down upon his collapsing corpse. Wraith threw the chunks down with a meaty thud from each as the body hit the ground before him, leaving the super-soldier covered in blood.
His heavy growls and gasping exhales slowed in consistency, winding down in intensity until they began to abate entirely. The rage wore off, there was no one else who needed to feel it. A sense of coherency returned as Wraith stood still, his armor splashed with blood and his hands soaked in crimson fluid. The room was an absolute mess, the ground slick with fresh blood and littered with bodies and pieces of bodies. He didn't care, the was something cathartic about a release like that, even if the circumstances were horrific.
"Ahsoka..." he breathed, turning around. She was lying still on the table, not moving. Panic gripped him and Wraith tore off his gloves as he retracted his optics, the scarlet lenses sliding up his forehead. His bare hands guided her face to his and he tapped her cheek a few times. "Ahsoka?" He repeated, desperate. Wraith reached into the Force, probing their bond. She was alright, for the most part it seemed, and there appeared to be nothing wrong with her. After a little further probing, Ahsoka's eyes slowly opened and she regarded him with a half-dazed look on her face.
"W-Wraith? How... H-How long was I out for?" She wondered with an unsteady voice.
"I-I dunno." He replied. "A few minutes, maybe less." He swallowed, worry still gripping him. "Are you okay?"
"I..." Ahsoka trailed off, the memory of everything that had happened suddenly returning like a rush. "I..." Wraith saw the telltale shimmer in her eyes as water started to collect, the traumatic experience finally coming to bear. "I-I could sense their thoughts..." She admitted, voice slowly breaking as her tone grew shaky, "I-I saw what they wanted to do..." Her sentence went unfinished and Wraith shrugged off his duster as Ahsoka broke down and cried, pulling her close as he threw his armor across the table. He held her close, both arms wrapped tightly around her as Wraith pulled her into his chest, the two embracing in the midst of a scene of carnage. He felt rather shocked himself, disbelief winding through him. He could barely believe this had happened... and yet it had.
"It's alright." He whispered to her and also himself. "Nothing happened." Something almost had, though, and that was something to worry about. If a handful of guards might be so bold as to try something as horrible as this, who else might? Ahsoka's sobs pierced his soul and Wraith knew he had to worry about that later. He determined then and there that hell had a name.
It was called 'Zygerria'.
On the floor, a short distance away, the jawless and bloodied head of Kav watched them. His mouth forever open in a perpetual scream of terror.
Wraith carried Ahsoka back to his room, the Padawan wrapped in his duster (the clean side). He set her on the bed and promised to return in a moment, locking his door and then shattering the outside access panel. Ahsoka could unlock it from the other side when he returned... if she had the strength to rise.
He proceeded to make his way down to the throne room, shoving past guards as he barged in on a meeting between Scintel and Molec.
"Scintel!" He roared. "We need to talk!" Everyone turned to him, Scintel with a curious look, Anakin with an expression of concern, and Molec with a frown.
"You cannot just barge in here and make demands of her majesty!" He stated, advancing towards him.
"I'll do as I damn well please Molec!" Wraith shot back, clearly seething beneath his helmet.
"It's alright, Prime Minister. Go and attend to your business." Scintel waved him off. Molec nodded, bowed and quietly slipped out as Wraith approached the throne. "Now, whatever is the matter, super-soldier? You seem rather cross." She casually wondered.
"I just back from the local barracks," Wraith began, growling the words as Scintel nodded in understanding, "where I had to deal with six guards who were threatening to abuse Ahsoka!" He revealed. Anakin started, his eyes wide with sudden shock.
"What?!" He cried.
"They claimed to be 'processing' her." Wraith continued, his optics fixed on Scintel.
"Processing?!" The Queen exclaimed. "I did not order such a thing, I assumed you had her under control."
"I did and still do." Wraith growled in a low voice. "They took her from my room while I was on my way back from Kadavo. She's lucky I found her before those brutes did irreparable damage to her!" Anakin was by their sides now, a look of great concern on his face.
"I did not order my guards to process her, not even once! Of that I can assure you." Scintel responded.
"Then the only possible reason is that they acted of their own accord... and have paid the appropriate price." Wraith determined.
"You said my friends would be safe!" Anakin accused, turning on the Queen.
"This place is anything but safe, Skywalker." Wraith cautioned.
"I said they would be safe IF you agreed to my offer, Skywalker. Something you have not yet done." Scintel replied, turning to him. The silence was tense and Wraith could feel it. Whatever was going on between Skywalker and the Queen, it was their business and not his. His point made, Wraith was ready to leave.
"I'll be in my quarters, tending to Ahsoka. Poor girl's been traumatized. Call me if the matter is of grave importance and grave importance only." He stated, emphasizing the final word. He'd had enough of moving at the whims of this horrific race. He was taking matters into his own hands now. "Oh... and there's a mess in the barracks." He added, pitying whatever unfortunate slave they sent to clean up the carnage he'd left behind. With a growl of vented frustration, he headed for the exit. But footsteps tailed him and Anakin's voice stopped him.
"Wraith." He turned, Anakin right close to him with his expression still creased with fear and worry. "Let me see her." He was practically begging him and while Wraith would normally deny Skywalker anything, he knew Ahsoka needed to see him.
"Follow me." He quietly agreed. Anakin strode alongside him as they made their way through the halls of the palace. They walked in relative silence, both of them feeling rather uncomfortable. It was Anakin who finally broke it.
"Why did you do it?" He wondered.
"Do what?" Wraith replied.
"You know. Save her." Anakin explained. "Aren't the Zygerrians your new friends? I thought Separatists didn't care about us Republic supporters."
"Skywalker, if I didn't care about her, I would not have gone to find her." Wraith answered, simply and pointedly. "If I didn't care about her, I would not have killed the six guards that were there." Six. Anakin shuddered at the possibilities that could've arisen. "I killed for her." Wraith continued. "I broke down walls and doors to find her. There is nothing I wouldn't do for her." He vehemently vowed. "As for the scum around us... they are not our friends and never will be, so long as I have a say in things."
"And how much of a say is that?" Anakin queried. Wraith did not respond and the Jedi had a feeling it wasn't much. "If you really hate the Zygerrians that much, why are you here?" Obviously, his reputation of a man who swung between one of two extremes had made the rounds, the Jedi understanding he was not a man of compromise. Either he went all the way or he didn't.
"Because I had no choice." He simply responded as the reached the top of the stairs. "This one." They stopped at his door and Wraith knocked only two times. "Ahsoka?" He called. "It's me. I've brought someone who wants to see you." The two waited a few minutes and Wraith stepped aside when he detected Ahsoka's presence on the other side. The Togruta slid open the door with the Force and her eyes widened upon seeing Anakin.
"Master!" She cried, almost bursting into tears again.
"Snips!" Anakin echoed it as they embraced, arms around one another. Wraith could see some resemblance to a father-daughter relationship, but moreso that of a brother and sister. "Wraith told me what happened. Are you okay? Did they do anything to you?" Anakin worriedly asked.
"No, Wraith stopped them before they could." Ahsoka sniffled, a few images from his rampage still fresh in her mind. "But I could sense their every intention. I could just see what they wanted to do to me... and it was horrible!" She professed as they fully entered his room. Both men could see streaks left behind on her cheeks from where her tears had dried and the occasional sniffle indicated she'd only evened out recently. They all sat down, Wraith in a chair and the two Jedi opposite him on the couch, Wraith doing his hardest to try and not act like the boyfriend he was. He could do so later when Anakin wasn't around.
For a moment they were all speechless, all of them greatly disturbed by recent events. Then Anakin finally rounded on Wraith.
"Is this what the Separatists are all about? Is this the kind of thing you're fighting for?!" He demanded. Wraith calmly slipped off his helmet and fixed Anakin with a fervent look.
"No. It is not." He stated in a low but firm voice. "This is the result of Sith machinations, as I've learned. The people who make up the Confederacy did not wish this. And neither do I." He revealed. "The only reason why I'm still here is because I have my orders and I am bound by them."
"If that's really the case, then why haven't you done something about it?" Anakin wondered, echoing an earlier question poses by Ahsoka as well as continuing his previous question. Wraith did not answer immediately, but rose and wandered over to a nearby window which looked out across the city and the terrain of Zygerria... a sight he'd never hated more.
"Your Clones. They follow your orders to the letter. Don't they?" He finally asked. "Every order, every command either of you give them, they obey, no matter how insane it may seem." Anakin took a moment and then nodded.
"Yes."
"Then you understand how I work." Wraith replied. "Not all of us are as unorthodox as you are and are so willing to bend the rules." Anakin found it hard to believe that Wraith would even equate himself to a Clone. His disbelief in the super-soldier continued to build, slowly replacing his malice with mistrust. He didn't believe a word out of Wraith's mouth. In his mind, anyone who hated slavery acted against it. Wraith was too lukewarm with his decisions to be even remotely considered an opponent of the trade. "I hate to cut this short, but I suspect the Queen has only let you go for so long because you're with me, whom she trusts. We'll have to go back soon if you want to be able to rescue the colonists." Wraith announced.
"Why should I? We're all here, I've got my lightsaber. We can just start now!" Anakin retorted. The super-soldier released a grumbling sigh.
"You still don't get it Skywalker!" Wraith growled, turning to him. "This is not the time to blaze your own path! Have you forgotten what happened the last time you tried a haphazard plan?"
"It was not haphazard!" Anakin countered.
"You did not expect Kenobi to be captured and had to improvise, that was your downfall." Wraith stated. "If you do such a thing again, the Zygerrians will come down even harder on you and Ahsoka and Kenobi and Rex and the colonists. You will doom them before you can even save them." Ahsoka knew he was right and Anakin was hesitant to admit he had a point. "You cannot just force reality into the frame you've made for it. It doesn't work like that!"
"Why not? What do you know?!" Anakin demandingly wondered.
"Because I've been there and tried that. You have to wait and coax life to take on the pattern you wish, only then can you spring your plan and make everything work." Wraith replied. His gaze returned to the window and the super-soldier fell quiet. When he next spoke, the words out of his mouth were like nothing either Jedi could anticipate. "I want to free the colonists as much as you do. Peace-loving innocents do not deserve this. Hell, no one does. They were brought here unfairly and deserve justice." Wraith wondered if that's also what he wanted for himself. "Between the two of you and these four walls, this is the only time I will ever say this: on this one occasion, in this sole moment, I want to ensure the Republic succeeds." He promised, startling them both.
"You... You do?" Ahsoka asked, hopeful. Anakin was hesitant, unwilling to trust Wraith. For all he knew it could be another ploy. Wraith nodded. She wondered for a moment if this was the point where Wraith switched allegiances. She could see his humanity more clearly and hoped that it would continue to break through the should the Separatists had placed over him. "So... what now?" Ahsoka wondered, wholeheartedly believing Wraith was on her side.
"We wait. The right moment will come." Wraith mused, his voice distant, like he was lost in his own thoughts. "They call themselves an 'empire', like they made a name for themselves on triumph after triumph. What they are, are brutes, plain and simple. They think they can do whatever they want through sheer dominance alone and that... that isn't honorable. Nor is it right." His thoughts drifted to everything he'd seen and heard. Ytra's death, Tyria's death, the suffering of the colonists, Ahsoka's unfortunate experience. All of it compounded into a single set of evidence on which his beliefs were founded. "If there's one thing I hate the most in this galaxy, it's slavery. Hutts are bad, terrible even. They need to be extinguished. But this upstart... this needs to die. And it needs to die very, very soon." His words struck a chord with both Jedi and they knew how that they had a new ally on this endeavour.
"Why do you hate slavery?" Ahsoka asked, wondering if there was a particular reason for his feelings. Wraith shrugged.
"I guess it just doesn't seem right to me. Taking away a fellow sentient's freedoms, subjecting them to inhumane conditions... it's wrong. All of it." He responded. "I don't have a story or experience. I just have this sense of morality, I guess."
"I didn't think you had one." Anakin mused. Wraith huffed.
"There's much about me you don't know, Skywalker." Specifically his ongoing romantic relationship with his apprentice. "And I'd like to keep it that way." His helmet suddenly chirped, a warning Wraith knew to be an incoming communication, and so he donned it and powered up the electronics. "Wraith here."
"Soldier. I must speak with you in the throne room. Bring my Jedi with you." It was Scintel, the tone of her voice indicated immediate action.
"Understood." Wraith quickly entered the bedroom and returned with his bloody duster on, strapping up the armor.
"What's wrong?" Anakin asked.
"Someone wants to see us in the throne room," Wraith revealed, glancing back and forth between the Jedi, "all of us."
The trio walked slowly down to the throne room, none of them really conversing. Their thoughts were on whatever lay ahead, which seemed to bring with it a sense of foreboding and uncertainty. They were on high alert, the Jedi's position doubly precarious. Wraith was determined to ensure Ahsoka would be protected, which is why he had a plan in mind and stopped when they reached the entrance to the throne room.
"Skywalker," he stated, "when we enter the throne room, flank Ahsoka's right side. I'll flank her left." Anakin understood. It was a protective formation.
"Don't have to tell me twice." He affirmed. The doors slid open and the trio assumed their positions as they entered. What they found were Molec and eleven other Zygerrians all in the Queen's presence. Their arrival drew their attention and the Prime Minister seemed particularly perturbed by Wraith.
"You see, highness! He still wears the blood of our people!" He accused. The murmurings of the guards and their shared looks of malcontent gave Wraith a few ideas as to what was going on.
"What's this about?" He asked Scintel, forgoing any sense of formality. He really wasn't in the mood for it.
"These guards were friends of those you killed today, soldier. They all bring charges against you." The Queen answered.
"Is that right..." Wraith mused as he stopped and crossed his arms. "Well, I couldn't care less. Those six got what they deserved." He declared. That seemed to outrage the guards.
"How dare you speak against such good men and disgrace them!" One exclaimed.
"Disgrace them?! They disgraced themselves with their actions!" Wraith retorted, his fury rising once more.
"You see how... defiant he is?" Molec carried on, still frowning. "He does not care that he murdered six of our brothers!"
"And I'd do it again if I got the chance!" Wraith spat. He didn't care what these brutes thought of him. "Are they here to reclaim the 'honor' of those I dealt with?" Wraith wondered, looking to the Queen.
"They do." Scintel affirmed with a nod.
"We will avenge them! And then your blood will be on our hands!" A guard shouted, earning a chorus of affirming exclamations from his fellows. Wraith turned to them, studying them all. They were of varying heights and builds, but they were all Zygerrians: cocky and determined to prove themselves dominant. This gave him an edge.
"That is the opinion of all of you?" He asked aloud and most of them nodded. "Then I challenge all twelve of you to martial combat." He announced. All of a sudden, the Zygerrians were chomping at the bit, ready to fight. Martial combat was the way of their people, how disputes were settled with displays of dominance over the other. They would happily deal with this in such a fashion.
"Twelve?" Molec pried.
"Did you really think I'd forgotten about you, Captain of the Guard?" Wraith retorted. He'd been able to think quick enough to put the pieces together. Molec had likely discovered his mess after he'd barged in on his meeting with Scintel and riled up some other guards in order to try and pay him back for what he'd done.
It could also be, and he perished the thought, that Molec had wanted those guards to abuse Ahsoka. Wraith recalled his leering gaze with little fondness.
His words caused the Prime Minister to smile.
"We accept!" He thundered, stepping down from the throne to join his fellow guards. Wraith turned to the Jedi.
"Let me handle this." He instructed. Ahsoka willingly backed off, Anakin less so.
"No way. She's my apprentice! I fight for her honour too, you know!" He retorted.
"And normally I would let you. But I killed those guards, so you have to let me fulfill their traditions." Wraith countered. He understood Skywalker's position and would've gladly let him have a crack at the Zygerrians. But that was not to be, since there was a whole cultural understanding behind these kind of disputes. "The best thing you can do now is keep her safe." Wraith added. Anakin seemed to understand that and stepped away, letting Wraith handle the Zygerrians alone. In reality, the super-soldier was more than happy to cause these curs some pain, especially since the species as a whole was well overdue for a lesson that they were not the most dominant species in the universe and they could not simply do as they pleased. A lesson Wraith was more than willing to teach this dozen. Now he had the perfect method to do so.
Molec walked among his guards as they all bore ready looks, each one more than eager to engage in their time honored tradition.
"If we win... well, I suppose what will happen is obvious." Molec announced. Wraith cracked his knuckles, each sound a death knell for a guard.
"And if I win... you'll be lucky to live long enough to admit defeat." Wraith retorted.
"Of course, no weapons." Molec added with a toothy grin. Wraith casually reached down and removed his gunbelt, tossing it behind him. His duster went next and so did his helmet, the Zygerrians seeing his true face for the first time. His amber eyes shone brightly, filled with a determined sense of hatred. But the Zygerrians showed similar, bloodthirsty desires. The Jedi were concerned this would be an even match... then again, this was Wraith. "Let's see how 'super' you are without your weapons, soldier." Molec declared, his guards cackling as they sized up Wraith. He raised his fists,
"Comorro so phira." He growled in Togruti. Molec chuckled.
"He speaks the language of the slaves." He observed. "Let us treat him like one!" The first guard rushed forward and threw a heavy but lazy punch. Wraith countered with a parry, driving his hand to the side, before gripping his arm and dropping it down onto his raised knee. The bone split with an audible crack, fragments protruding from under his sleeve, and the guard let out a scream as Wraith drove his boot into his knee, snapping it backwards with another crack. Then he grabbed the Zygerrians head and twisted it one-hundred and eighty degrees, snapping his neck and killing him instantly.
The fight was over in seconds and the other Zygerrians realized he would be no pushover, nor would he take any prisoners, as their comrade fell dead on the floor. It seemed to sober the guards for a moment, before a great rage overtook them all. "Come on then! Have at him!" Molec roared, urging them all forward. They charged without care or plan, the Zygerrians seeking only to use their brute strength to overwhelm him. Wraith had anticipated as much and saw the guard's approach as sloppy and uncoordinated, giving him the advanatge.
The first guard to come close received two swift uppercuts before a crushing overhead knocked him to the ground. Wraith then spun and backhanded another with his fist, sending blood and teeth flying from the Zygerrian's mouth. Grabbing him by the neck, Wraith chokeslammed him atop his fellow guard and rose just in time to step forward and clothesline two more, knocking them flat on their backs.
These were wearing them down, but not killing them. He had eleven left to deal with and had every intention of killing them all... though Molec he might just humiliate. Time would tell if that would remain his plan or not.
A windmill punch pummeled the torso of one guard before a roundhouse kick dislocated his jaw, dropping him immediately. Wraith pounced and drove his heel into the back of the guard's neck, snapping it with a sickening crunch. "Swarm him! He cannot handle us all! Treat him as you would a Jedi!" Molec ordered, hanging back. The guards took his advice and attacked as one. But Wraith fended them off with a series of roundhouse kicks, one after another, his heavy boots clubbing across their faces and sending droplets of blood splattering across the throne room floor. Two are dead, Wraith thought to himself, I need to kill more! He enacted on his need by grabbing the nearest guard and driving a hard blow into his gut, then his chin and then his head with enough force to send the guard spinning. Driving his boot into the back of his leg, Wraith dropped the guard before lashing out with another kick that crushed the Zygerrian's skull between the wall and his boot.
They seem to be all about heavy punches and throws. Wraith realized as he blocked an incoming punch and drove his palm into the guard's face, shattering his nose. I guess I can be a little more flexible. As the guard stumbled back, Wraith executed a kick flip, his toe connecting with the guard's chin and splintering his teeth as they rammed together inside his mouth. As soon as he was on his feet, another Zygerrian charged him, hands out and ready to grab him with the thought Wraith needed some recovery time. But the super-soldier promptly tripped him before grabbing the back of his head and ramming it into the wall behind him. The crunch of broken and torn flesh filled the room before the echoing crack of shattered bones followed it, Wraith jamming his boot into the Zygerrian's spine. He turned to see another guard rushing him, their attacks split-seconds apart. He retaliated with a quick blow to the face, then his gut and then an uppercut before kicking him to the floor. As the Zygerrian struggled to recover, Wraith planted his boot against his neck. The guard's hands grasped his foot and tried to push him off, but Wraith proved stronger and stomped down, the guard's body spasming before going limp as Wraith ground his boot against his flesh.
Two more came his way as Molec watched with growing disgust for the way his men were useless against Wraith. A superkick shattered a guard's jaw before Wraith grabbed the incoming fist of the other and snapped his arm, proceeding to dislocate his shoulder. He then hoisted the guard over his head and brought his back down on his knee, snapping his spine like a twig. The guard rolled from his grip with a whimper as Wraith turned on his compatriot. Another punch blocked, his drove his forehead into the guard, stunning him with a loud crack of bone on bone. With his hand still in his grip, Wraith proceeded to dislocate his wrist before he tore off his entire hand, the guard screaming as his blood gushed onto the floor. Wraith threw him down before his boot crashed into the back of his head, the Zygerrian's skull disintegrating under the stomp.
Molec was through watching and powered past his men as he stormed against Wraith with a growl, his body colliding into the super-soldier's and driving him into the back wall. Wraith unleashed several double-axehandle blows into Molec's back, but the Zygerrian's armor dulled them and offered Molec the advanatge. Flexing the claws on his hands that were native to his species, the Prime Minister drove his hand into Wraith's side, the super-soldier letting out a pained grunt as his unarmored shirt was pierced along with his ribs. With a cunning grin, Molec raked his claws against Wraith's side, leaving deep cuts as the super-soldier's blood spilled out and stained his shirt. Molec pulled back his bloody hand and drove it into the fresh wound, fiery pain shooting up Wraith's side as he struggled to throw off the Prime Minister. He powered through the pain and rained down rapid-fire blows against Molec's head, finally loosing him from around his waist. Molec gave his head a shake as he stepped back, laughing as Wraith clutched his bloody side and straightened up, gritting his teeth as he pushed past the pain. "You are not so tough. Perhaps if you were a Zygerrian, you would've lasted longer." He jeered. Another guard attacked Wraith from the side, throwing him to the ground while he was recovering. A swift kick connected with his bloody ribs and Wraith could not hold back a cry of pain. Still laughing, Molec stopped down and grabbed the super-soldier, throwing him across the room and into a nearby pillar. Wraith hit the ground with a grunt and forced himself to stand.
"Wraith?" Ahsoka called, worried.
"I'm alright," he replied, catching his breath and pushing himself to a kneeling position, "I've had worse." Ahsoka knew he had, but was this too much?
"The words of a desperate man." Molec cackled, he and the five remaining guards, grinning and baring their teeth as they got ready for what they believed to be the end of this round of combat. "Before you are defeated, I just want you to know that we few will happily continue what you interrupted." Molec sneered, thinking they had Wraith on the ropes. Anakin quickly stepped between the fight and Ahsoka, determined to be the last line of defence despite the odds. "Her screams will fill the barracks! And by the time we're done, she will be Zygerrian property without question!" Molec cackled, a ravenous desire in his eyes even as he taunted the super-soldier. He really couldn't wait to make the little skug his.
But his words marked him for death, though he did not know it yet.
Wraith closed his eyes and let his anger build, willing it to grow just like before. Molec's words painted a picture that drove him to the edge and beyond, fuelling his ravenous hate and boiling fury. His nails scraped against the polished floor as his hands contracted into fists, his rage rising as he turned control over to his feelings. "She will be mine, soldier!" His breathing grew heavy, a growl rising from the back of his throat, his body tensing. "And there will be nothing you can do about it!" Molec snarled, almost joyful about his impending actions. Suddenly, Wraith's head snapped towards him, his expression one of pure hatred. Molec watched his eyes turn black, rings of red apparing where his irises had once been.
And then he loosed a scream of pure and utter rage.
Springing up from the ground, Wraith delivered a blow so powerful it tore off a guard's jaw as well as part of his face. Then, with brute strength unlike anything anyone in the throne room had ever witnessed before, Wraith grabbed his body and tore it in two with his bare hands. Blood and innards hit the floor as Wraith disposed of the corpse, roaring and charging towards another Zygerrian.
For the Jedi, Wraith's fury was strong and powerful, enough to cause both of them to falter as radiating waves of cold Dark Side energy flooded their enhanced senses. If they cringed before with his bone-crunching blows, these were enough to bring them close to vomiting. They'd never seen such destructive power before, especially not a power unleashed in such a violent manner before. They'd only ever seen innards and organs in holotexts and during lessons. To see a Zygerrian's intestine pulled from his body, along with his liver, it was enough to make them both thankful for having not eaten in a while.
For Ahsoka, the sensation was just like before, minus his mind-numbing hatred, and she truly understood the sheer intensity of it this time. For Anakin it new and rather terrifying, to think that a single sentiment could unleash so much devastating power through his fury alone. Anakin had endured brushes with the Dark Side before, each one leaving his soul seared by its corruptive potential. This was different, this was pure malice made manifest. The presence he felt was hot, almost volcanic to his senses. It forced him to see that, true to his word, there was much about Wraith he didn't know...
It also struck Him how he was willingly killing the very people he was supposed to be helping. Wraith never did that.
The unfortunate Zygerrian to be targeted by Wraith had his limbs torn off one by one, each action followed by an agonized shriek and the sound of blood splashing against the floor. Devoid of his legs, the guard lay helplessly on the ground as Wraith ripped his body to pieces in a furious rampage, his teeth bared and his coherency reduced to grunts, growls, snarls and roars. Each new kill seemed to empower him, Wraith driven to kill again and again until there was nothing left for him to slaughter. He lunged over to another guard and his hand passed through his chest, returning moments later with his torn-out breastbone. Wraith proceeded to bludgeon his head with his own bone, beating a hole into his skull and tearing apart his head with furious blows. One guard foolishly tried to attack Wraith, only to find his skull cracked and his world spinning. A boot against his back, Wraith's hand plunged into the guard's back and pulled his spine from his body, his head removed along with it. Blood showered the floor and soaked his arm, the super-soldier a mess with the fluids of his enemies.
Molec was the only one left, the Prime Minister aghast by the actions committed before him. The Zygerrian revealed his true colours as Wraith's demonic gaze turned on him, Molec starting to backpeddle. Wraith had every intention of ending him now. If he so desperately wished to abuse Ahsoka... he would get what he deserved. Within only a few steps he was before the cowering Molec and he reached out to take him by the ears, forcibly ripping them off along with a few connected strips of skin. The Prime Minister screamed in agony as blood ran down his face, only for Wraith to silence him with a hard blow that shattered his jaw.
But he wasn't done yet.
For his hubris and his cruelty, for his willful denial of other's freedom, Molec felt a stabbing pain as Wraith's hands burrowed into his back and gripped his spine. The super-soldier hoisted him over his head with ease and tapped into his brute strength... to rip... and to tear... The sound of shredded flesh was followed closely by a final shriek from Molec as Wraith tore him in half, the Zygerrian's torso in one hand and his legs in the other, his blood raining down upon the incensed Wraith.
The halves of Molec fell to the ground where he lay still and moved no further, Wraith the sole standing party and the undisputed victor in this round of martial combat. His body now completely splattered by the blood of his enemies, Wraith stood in a puddle of innards, blood and bits of flesh, heaving deep animalistic breaths as his rage evened out.
To put an end to it all, Wraith threw back his head and unleashed one final roar of pure fury, draining his rage from his body while declaring his dominion over these fallen brutes.
It was all over now. The throne room was a mess, it's floors covered with the blood and corpses of twelve dead Zygerrians, the planet's Prime Minister among them. Wraith calmed down as he had before, only to suddenly feel very drained and even more tired than he already had been. Force Fury had taken its toll on his body and now Wraith wanted nothing more than to simply forget.
A task easier said than done, considering how he was covered with blood. So much blood...
He made to leave as Queen Scintel made a few remarks, her words dull and monotonous to his hearing as he fetched his discarded equipment. He dragged his feet towards the exit, offering the Jedi only a glance as they watched him leave. They were stunned, really, beyond words to describe what they'd felt and what they'd witnessed. It was awful, sure. Horrible, in fact. But by comparison to what the Zygerrians had done and threatened to do, maybe it was just.
Though neither of them would ever admit it out loud, they both started to believe that maybe these people got exactly what they deserved. The Jedi Code forbade wanton killing, stating their purpose to be the preservation of all life, no matter how vile or villainous the being might be. But after today, both Anakin and Ahsoka found themselves condoning Wraith's actions... for reasons unknown, only that it seemed right to them.
Anakin, knowing his current position was not a favourable one, knew that, right now, there was only one way to keep Ahsoka safe.
"Go with him." He reluctantly urged. Ahsoka glanced up, curious.
"Master?"
"His hands are safest right now." Anakin explained. Had circumstances been different, he would've ensured Ahsoka stayed by his side at all times. But that was not the case and so he had no other options. Ahsoka nodded and followed the shambling Wraith, Anakin pausing to watch them go. He knew they'd take care of one another, even if he didn't like it. But Zygerria was a world that offered few options, leaving one to choose only the lesser of two evils. And right now, Anakin preferred that his apprentice be in the grip of someone who cared and not those of a lecherous guard. He realized now just how much Wraith was determined to fight for Ahsoka, even if this wasn't the true depth of his affections. It gave him a window into the super-soldier that he hadn't been expecting to see with his act of ferocity. But the fact that it was all derived from his desire for her... well, it made The Wraith seem a little more human to Anakin. More than he'd ever been before.
The setting sun filtered through Wraith's room by the time he and Ahsoka returned. Once inside and the door sealed, Wraith dropped his equipment on the floor, his limbs feeling numb and heavy. Ahsoka could sense how exhausted he felt, mentally, physically and emotionally, and knew that today had really worn him out. It had pushed him to limits deemed unfathomable until now and even then both of them could barely process it all.
Today had been... hellish, to say the least.
Wraith looked down at his bloodstained hands and then to Ahsoka, who looked to him expectantly. He knew she needed him after what happened today, but wasn't exactly in the best of states to provide it.
"I'm, uh... I'm gonna have a shower." He quietly mumbled. Glancing at her just reminded him of Tyria and the awful guilt returned, as well as memories of what could've happened not too long ago. Ahsoka nodded and let him go without a word, Wraith disappearing into the refresher after stripping off his soaked shirt. In a mirror he sized up the wounds Molec had given him. They weren't major and were already healing. A good thing, he supposed. The rest of his clothes piled up on the floor as he turned on the shower and stepped inside. The space was large, big enough for more than one person, but Wraith didn't care for any sort of luxury and closed his eyes as the warm water rinsed his skin of Zygerrian blood. It stung as it filtered through the wounds in his side, but Wraith barely felt it. His own pain paled in comparison to the travesties the Togrutans were enduring. His thoughts drifted back to Tyria Halva... young, innocent Tyria... snatched before her time by brutes who held no regard for the lives of others.
He was positive he'd killed the one who murdered her. The description of Kav fit one of the guards he'd murdered in the barracks. Good riddance. He thought, though he felt a distinct lack of pride or accomplishment. Maybe too many people had died in the past few days, innocents and Zygerrians alike. But every time his thoughts returned to poor Tyria, there was a level of justification that came with it. How many others might've been complicit? Kav had friends, were there more on Kadavo who needed to die? He didn't know...
He wanted to get angry, to feel the burning heat of rage course through his body and numb him to everything else. He wanted to unleash his vengeance upon them and pay them back for all the misery they'd caused the Togrutans.
But he couldn't. His tank was empty. Today had been so long and difficult he simply had nothing left in him. And so, with a shuddering exhale, Wraith broke down.
His sobs started slow and were held back, Wraith working to try and keep them down. Then the tears started rolling and no matter how much he grit his teeth or clenched his fists, it all overwhelmed him eventually. He sank to his knees, his body heaving in time with his sobs as the water cascaded down around him. His head rested against the shower wall, along with his hands which balled into fists. He weakly pounded the wall as his sobs came in earnest, his tears mixing with the water of the shower. He felt so guilty and horrible, he was the reason these Togruta were suffering. Every step around this wretched place plagued him with the knowledge that he was free while they were not.
If only he'd known that he was being lied to, that Count Dooku of all people would so readily deceive him. He'd give anything to take the place of the colonists, to take their pain and misfortune. And yet his damn orders kept him from doing anything other than being obedient.
He didn't know how long he was in there for, either remembering or sobbing. it was only when the soft voice of Ahsoka reached his ears that reality returned to him.
"Wraith?" He turned to look with red, bleary eyes as Ahsoka shut off the water and entered the shower. Her azure gaze was full of concern and worry for his wellbeing, evidently she'd heard him from outside. It was a nice gesture, really, but it was one he didn't feel worthy of. Her hand came to rest on his shoulder and she knelt beside him on the damp shower floor. "Are you okay?" She softly asked. She slowly shook his head, a few more sobs wracking his body.
"No." He admitted, finding it in him to turn and sit, wrapping his arms around his knees as Ahsoka's hand worked gentle circles around his shoulder. "I hate this." He admitted between sniffles. "I hate everything about this." His first declaration that he did not like Zygerria, its people and their practices might've been a little shallow. But now Ahsoka could see how badly it was affecting him. He hadn't even told her about Tyria. "I had a bad day today, 'Soka." He revealed, wiping his tears with his hands. "Like... really bad."
"I know," She whispered. She didn't really. She only knew what she'd also partaken in, "I know." She repeated, comforting him. Her arm wrapped around him, pulling him into a one-sided hug. Her words settled within him and, all of a sudden, it seemed inappropriate that she be comforting him after what she'd been through today.
"Oh Force, kriffin' hell," he muttered, quickly composing himself and wiping away more tears, "here I am feeling sorry about myself and yet you suffered worse than I did." Ahsoka looked up as he turned to her, amber eyes soft and searching. "How are you? Are you okay?" His sudden attention and care for her was really sweet, but Ahsoka knew from experience that sometimes you simply need to help yourself before helping others.
"Wraith..." She whispered his name, her tone indicating gentle affirmation. "It's okay to be weak once in a while." Her statement seemed to break down whatever walls he'd built around his feelings and Wraith hugged her back, his arms encircling her slim waist as he released a shuddering exhale, burying his face in her neck. Ahsoka held him there, a hand on his back and the other in his hair. They simply held each other for a moment, Wraith relaxing under her soothing embrace as Ahsoka basked in his presence, knowing her lover had a soft and kind-hearted soul underneath the invincible veneer of a super-soldier. The cracks that had been developing over the past week had finally shattered his stoic and unflinching appearance, allowing her and her aloe to see the hurting man he truly was. "We all have a bad day." Wraith pulled his head back, looking her in the eyes.
"It's not just today." He finally admitted.
Then he told her. He told her everything. He began with how the mission had started, before revealing the lie he'd been told and how devastated he'd been. He continued with how he spent every day walking with the guilt and shame that his actions had caused others, explaining how his hatred for the Zygerrians grew alongside his despair for the Kiros colonists. Then he told her about Tyria and her family and trailed off as the rest was still a recent memory for her. Ahsoka let it all sink in, realizing that Wraith had been through so much more than she could've imagined and now knew why he felt the way he did. "The first time I've slept in nine days was last night." He revealed. "I just can't bring myself to do anything for myself, not without thinking about everything those colonists are suffering." His heart was obvious and she could sense his honesty. "They don't deserve this... none of them do. And yet I'm... powerless to do anything because I am pressed to serve obediently. I've been ordered to aid these... monsters, and I can't do anything about it." To act differently was treason in his mind, especially on something his superiors decided was important. His struggle was apparent and Ahsoka felt bound to at least soothe him somehow. A sudden thought came to her and she voiced it,
"On Umbara, when Pong Krell finally pushed Rex too far, he and his men rebelled." She told him. Wraith nodded. He'd been there for part of that final confrontation... at Dooku's behest. "I'm not gonna tell you what you should do, because you already know what I'd want you to do. But... if a Clone, who is born and bred to follow orders, can defy them when pushed too far... maybe you can too." Wraith understood, but he did not feel as though he could make a decision like that at the moment. He remembered Deiven's words about him being like a Clone... and wondered just how true that statement was.
He was settled now, his emotions properly vented. Ahsoka helped him out of the shower and dried him off, being careful around the wounds in his side. He dressed in a pair of briefs and they both crawled into bed, Ahsoka having an idea to help him sleep. She pulled his head to her chest, taking a turn being the one to hold and comfort him. It seemed strange for Wraith as he was often the one to offer support first. But today had brought out his need for it and Ahsoka was more than happy to fulfill it. Her hands slowly worked through his damp auburn locks, stroking his scalp as her touches soothed him. On the brink of sleep, Ahsoka softly hummed a Togrutan lullaby from her childhood, her melodic voice almost hypnotic as it lulled him to sleep.
The next morning...
Wraith awoke in the same position he'd fallen asleep in; with his head held close to Ahsoka and her arms around him. He glanced up to find her looking down and smiling.
"Morning." He greeted with a smile.
"Morning." She replied, kissing the top of his head. "Feel better?"
"A little, yeah." He admitted, pulling himself up so he was even with her eyes. "Thank you for last night." Nothing more really needed to be said.
"Happy to help." She replied, her hand sliding against his cheek. "Thank you... for saving me yesterday."
"You're welcome." He responded, taking her hand in his and stroking the back with his thumb. "I'm... I'm sorry I wasn't... cleaner about it."
"I forgive you." She said, savouring his touch and close proximity. For a moment they stared at each other, feeling connected and united through simple gazes alone. "You know... it's kinda nice to know somebody feels so... passionately about me."
"In a... roundabout way, right?" Wraith surmised. Ahsoka giggled.
"Yeah." She agreed. Remembering that event, Wraith's concern for her spiked.
"Are you sure you're okay?" He gently asked. Ahsoka's gaze fell away from him. She couldn't hide the truth from him and she refused to.
"I did... remember it quite a bit last night." She confessed. "Started to wonder about... what could've happened." Her statements sounded very much like PTSD, and it probably was. But Wraith was determined to help her handle it.
"Is there anything I can do to help you?" He asked. Ahsoka pondered that for a moment before replying,
"I want to have a shower." Wraith nodded.
"Okay." He made to get up and get things ready for her but Ahsoka stopped him, her request not quite finished.
"And... A-And I want you to join me." The blush across her face was suggestive enough for Wraith to chuckle.
"That can be arranged." He warmly replied.
Meanwhile, on Kadavo...
The stifling heat of the refinery made the air thick, virtually unbreathable. Dozens of Togruta toiled away, labouring long and harshly under the unflinching gaze of the Zygerrian overseers. But Keeper Agruss was only interested in one slave, today.
That slave being Obi-Wan Kenobi; a Jedi in chains.
He worked along with Rex and the rest, shoveling raw ores into the smelter as Agruss floated over in his chair.
"Obi-Wan Kenobi," he chuckled, "once a Jedi Master, now a Jedi slave. Pitiful." His mocking retort hung in the air as the moved on, Obi-Wan watching him leave. The Jedi was covered in grim, his robes torn and burns appearing on exposed skin where the electro-whips had bitten deep. Rex was in a similar state of affairs, a sleeve torn away to reveal the mechanical arm the guards loved to shock with their prods and whips. The Togruta around him were weak and downtrodden, desperate for a reprieve the Zygerrians would never offer them. One man screamed out as a whip cracked across his back.
"Keep your eyes on your work, skug!" A guard thundered.
"Everything about this place is designed to shatter the will," Obi-Wan grimly mused, surveying the hell around him, "it's already begun to affect these poor people-" His musing was cut short as a whip struck his neck, igniting the color and delivering another painful shock through his battered nervous system.
"Speech is for your betters!" A guard stated.
"I'm sorry," Obi-Wan quickly apologized, resuming his work, "it won't happen again."
"He'll be punished, then." The Zygerrian grumbled, his whip striking a Togrutan man beside Obi-Wan. He cried out and collapsed, the whip compounding previous strikes that had taken a heavy toll on his body.
"No! Please stop! It's my mistake, leave him alone!" Obi-Wan begged, stopping to tend to the Togruta. A second guard took advantage and used his prod to strike Obi-Wan's collar, a double dose of high voltage shocking the Jedi into submission.
"No slave gives me commands!" The guard snarled, whipping the Togrutan again. "Beg! Beg me before this one dies because of you!" He cackled, beating him over and over again as a helpless Obi-Wan reached out.
"No... Please... Forgive me, master." He finally asked in a weak voice. Getting what he wanted, the Zygerrian laughed and went on his way. Once he was gone, Obi-Wan scrambled to help the man, who shoved him away in response.
"Away from me. Jedi only make things worse." The words crushed Obi-Wan's soul, his reaction all part of Agruss' plan to break him and wear his will down to nothing.
"Wraith said to wait for the right moment... was that hope or a falsehood designed to further shatter my will?" He wondered aloud.
"If I may, General," Rex offered, "I wouldn't trust a word out of his mouth."
Back on Zygerria...
The space lanes were still busy with heavy traffic. Dozens of ships arriving and leaving Zygerria in pursuit of the planet's valuable skin trade. But one ship stuck out from all the freighters and transports... the solar sailor collapsed its sails as it exited hyperspace and made for the world before it. Within, Count Dooku partook in a private call with his Master, Darth Sidious.
"Long has an empire been built upon the backs of slaves. To carry on this tradition, we will require... millions." Sidious darkly stated.
"I assure you, the Queen's defiance will not sour your plans Master." Dooku promised.
"If she fails to see the error of her ways, end her rule." Sidious commanded, much to Dooku's surprise. He hadn't been expecting such a permanent order to come through, but it seemed Prime Minister Molec's transmission had given Sidious enough to worry about. His brow furrowed in stern agreement, the transmission ended as Dooku's craft descended to the world below. Breaking through the clouds, the solar sailor alighted upon a landing pad outside the capitol's walls.
Within the capitol, upon the palace walls, Queen Scintel strode arm in arm with Anakin Skywalker as she savoured the early morning sensations.
"Have you given any more thought to my offer, Skywalker? If you vow loyalty to me, I will free your friends." She promised.
"It's not an easy decision." Anakin ground out, thoroughly tired with the Zygerrians. Especially after yesterday.
"Curious." Scintel hummed. "I thought the Jedi were selfless, placing the needs of others above their own." Anakin offered her a stray glance of frustration as they continued on their way... while R2-D2 trailed a good distance behind them. Ahead, a messenger rounded a corner and stopped to bow before Scintel.
"My Queen, I bring word," he announced, "Count Dooku is on his way here." Scintel sighed as she left Anakin's grasp.
"Sooner than anticipated." She muttered. "Make preparations for his arrival, contact The Wraith and ensure he will be in attendance." She instructed, the messenger quickly leaving to carry them out.
"So even you have a master." Anakin observed.
"Dooku is not my master!" Scintel retorted, turning around. "Perhaps you should not attend this meeting." She decided, a hand reaching for his lightsaber. "I trust you not to run away..." Anakin promptly drew his lightsaber and held the hilt before her face.
"I don't run away from anything, your highness." He stated, a pair of guards behind him taking aim at his head. He calmed down shortly and handed his weapon over to the Queen, who offered a pleased hum as she went on her way. The guards held Anakin a gunpoint, their weapons charged and ready to fire as R2 arrived on the scene. One smacked Anakin and forced him to turn around, only to lurch forward as R2 bumped into him from behind. Both guards turned on the astromech.
"Get out of here, you little tin can!" Anakin saw the ruse and smirked, leaping over the edge of the wall. The guards turned around and noted his absence, quickly checking everywhere for any trace of him. "Get down there and find that Jedi!" The guard ordered his partner.
"Yes sir!" He was gone in a flash... almost as quickly as Anakin returned. The startled guard looked up as a fist crashed into his face, stunning him long enough for Anakin to pitch him through the air, far away from the palace. He disappeared with a scream and the Jedi dusted off his hands, R2 rolling over with a happy beep.
"Nice work, pal." Anakin complimented as he knelt beside his astromech. "Now we have to find Ahsoka..."
After a very long shower...
"Who was at the door?" Ahsoka wondered as she straightened her outfit.
"A messenger." Wraith replied as he entered the bedroom, fully dressed. "Count Dooku's here to meet and Scintel wants me present." He stated as he picked up his armor, which was surprisingly clean. "Since when does blood just vanish?" He wondered aloud.
"Since someone used the Force to suck up all the blood molecules." Ahsoka replied, proud of her work. Wraith shot her a grin.
"Thanks babe." He donned it and strapped everything into place before collecting his helmet. Before he could put it on, he paused, suddenly sensing the end of his stay on Zygerria. Ahsoka noticed his frozen posture and grew curious.
"What is it?" She wondered. Wraith did not immediately answer and set down his helmet before he did.
"I've made my decision." He finally said. "I've had some time to think properly and..." Wraith paused and chose his next words. "These orders can go to hell, I'm no longer a slave to them. And I'm done letting innocents suffer such harsh injustices." He stated. Reaching for her neck, Wraith grasped her shock collar with both hands and tore it apart. The pieces fell to the floor and then he produced her lightsaber from within his duster. "It's time to rescue the colonists." Ahsoka eyes lit up at his words and she rushed forward, pulling him into a kiss. A surprised Wraith quickly reciprocated. "Don't thank me yet." He joked when she pulled away.
"That was in advance." Ahsoka replied with a smile, accepting her lightsaber. Wraith smiled back before getting on with a plan.
"Head back to your ship, get dressed and then find Anakin. You've got to go to Kadavo." Wraith told her.
"If anything, Anakin will find me." Ahsoka believed. "You get going. I can handle this." Wraith nodded and kissed her before leaving, an extra spring in his step and feeling relieved from his actions. Now he just had to deal with Dooku...
Ahsoka was about to reach out with the Force when she heard a tap on a nearby window. She turned and found Anakin perched outside, waving to her. Ahsoka quickly dashed to the window and pried it open, letting him in.
"Miss me yet?" Anakin wondered.
"I was just thinking about leaving." Ahsoka replied. "But I sense a disturbance in the Force." She added, something cold prickling at the edge of her senses.
"It's Dooku, he's here." Anakin told her. Ahsoka's eyes widened.
"Oh! That makes sense! Wraith is going to have a meeting with him and Scintel." She revealed.
"Okay, then we should get moving." Anakin determined. "She knows where Obi-Wan is."
"I think I do too. We need to go to Kadavo, that's where the colonists are." Ahsoka replied, recalling everything Wraith had shared with her.
"I suppose that's a start." Anakin mused as he fished a device from his belt. "Take this commlink and get back to our ship." He ordered.
"And where are you going?" Ahsoka wondered, seeing he wasn't going to join her.
"I do want my lightsaber back." Anakin responded, making to leave the same way Wraith had.
Dooku arrived in the palace throne room, simply dressed in his Sithly robes while bearing an elegant and noble demeanor of a seasoned diplomat. His steps echoed throughout the almost-empty throne room as he approached the enthroned Scintel with The Wraith standing b the base. The place was surprisingly clean after yesterday, a testament, Scintel supposed, to the many hard-working slaves she had at her beck and call.
"I wasn't expecting you, Count." Scintel greeted. "Not without an invitation."
"But I was invited... by your faithful advisor." Dooku revealed. "Prime Minister Molec is concerned over how attached you've become to Skywalker." Scintel took a moment to curse Molec's memory for bringing this upon her. Dooku calmly glanced around for some sign of Molec and seeing only Wraith and a Twi'lek servant girl. "Tell me, where is your faithful advisor? I had hoped he would join us." He inquired.
"Atai Molec was... slain, during one of our honored traditions. He made to settle a dispute in martial combat and was killed as a result." Scintel revealed, leaving out Wraith's involvement. Dooku seemed to accept that. "And you need not be concerned, Count. Skywalker is a symbol of my... of our power to enslave even Jedi." She announced, quickly correcting herself.
"Your power over him is an illusion. You forget, I was once a Jedi myself." Dooku responded, steadily advancing towards the throne.
"You have little in common with Anakin." Scintel stated, descending to meet him. She paused to take a glass from her servant, who also offered one to Dooku, which he accepted. "Please, hear my plan for the Jedi and decide." Scintel encouraged, ready to reveal that which she'd been concocting. Wraith was offered a drink but politely refused. "Right now, at my facility in the Kadavo system, Obi-Wan Kenobi is in despair." That seemed to capture Dooku's attention.
"I'm listening."
"Kenobi is coming to realize, perhaps for the first time in his life, that his efforts to help others will only injure them." Scintel chuckled. "As plans for escape and hopes of rescue fail, the gnawing fear that he will never be able to take action will grow in Kenobi's heart. To ease the burden of his fellow slaves, defiance will become compliance. When Kenobi realizes he cannot help those around him, his spirit will break and he will be mine!" She gleefully explained. "If such Jedi as Kenobi and Skywalker can fall, how many others will follow? Hm?" She wondered, the plan perfect in her eyes. "Imagine... Imagine an army of Jedi in your service. Zygerria will be... invincible!" Scintel was ready to toast her new endeavour... and Dooku was this close to joining her.
"A most ambitious plan, your highness. Only my goal is not the enslavement of the Jedi Order, but its extermination!" Count Dooku responded, much to Scintel's shock. Wraith calmly took every word in stride, the annihilation of the Jedi his own goal as well... save one, that is. "I have come to supervise their execution. Perform it, if necessary. Now... summon Skywalker." He commanded.
"I have no desire to end Skywalker's life." Scintel carefully replied. "He has become... a valuable asset to me and my throne." She excused.
"Yes... I suppose you would consider your personal eye-candy valuable." Wraith mused from his shadowy position. Both Queen and Count turned to him.
"Do explain, soldier." He beckoned.
"Scintel has turned Skywalker into something of a 'boy toy', if you will. She hasn't done anything to harm him simply because... she likes to keep him around, specifically hanging off her arm." Wraith continued. "That's all that stands between him and execution, sir: the Queen's affection." Scintel looked to him with an aghast look.
"You...!"
"Did you really think I was just here to be ordered around by you?" Wraith continued, rather pleased with how flustered Sinctel was becoming. "I tend to keep my eyes open."
"You would dare accuse me in such a manner?!" Scintel snapped, turning on him. "After all the liberties I provided you with the Togruta Jedi!" Dooku's gaze shifted, the intrigue ever-deepening.
"To whom does she refer, soldier?" He asked, voice low and dangerous. Wraith stayed silent, biding his time and minding his words. This could be navigated... with extreme care.
"He does not speak, because he is in the same position as I am. He is the one who killed Molec, after my Prime Minister expressed interest in turning the Togruta Jedi into his slave." Scintel revealed. Now it was Dooku's turn to accuse Wraith as the super-soldier stepped forward.
"Have you been doing your job, soldier? Or have you been enjoying one too many sleepless nights?" He inquired in a demanding tone.
"Mostly sleepless... but for very different reasons." Wraith growled back. Dooku could sense much malice in him and knew that there was something he needed to deal with.
"We will discuss this another time." He simply replied. "As for you, highness, your compliance is not optional. I command you to kill Skywalker!" He fiercely ordered.
"I will not be ordered about in my own palace, Count!" She exclaimed, a long finger in his face. Dooku's dark eyes fixed her with a searching look, gauging her reaction and determining her attitude.
"If you will not do my bidding, perhaps it is time to find someone who will." Dooku threatened, turning away from her. "I had hoped that Atai was still alive so that he might take your place." he continued, offering Wraith a withering stare the super-soldier returned. "Though perhaps there is yet someone on Zygerria or in your court who could do the deed."
"That traitor!" Scintel screeched, shattering her glass on the floor. "He is dead and you shall join him!" She threatened, drawing her personal electro-whip and igniting it.
But then Scintel lurched and dropped her weapon, her hand reaching for her throat as Dooku's rose, her airway cut off as the Force lifted her off the ground. She gasped and struggled, fighting to breathe again.
"The punishment for a slave who disobeys her master..." Dooku stated, keeping her in place, "is often severe. Soldier," Wraith turned to him, "do the honours." Wraith nodded and moved towards Scintel, drawing one of his knives.
"Now... to finish what Ytra started." He growled, eager to exact some poetic justice.
"Who is... Ytra?" Scintel choked out.
"Oh, just a Twi'lek girl. Green skin, brown eyes," Scintel's eyes widened when she realized Wraith was referring to her deceased servant girl, "she saw an opportunity present itself... and took it!" Wraith promptly drove his blade into Scintel's torso, the Queen gasping in pain as blood stained her robes. Wraith drew closer to her and whispered, "This is for all the innocent souls you've broken unjustly," giving his knife a sharp and vicious twist as he did. Scintel lurched, more blood staining Wraith's blade and her clothes. The super-soldier freed it moments later, her blood marking the floor and knowing Dooku would let her bleed out.
Suddenly, the entry doors opened and Anakin stormed in.
"That's enough Dooku!" He called, the Sith dropping the Queen moments later. Wraith sheathed his knife and made to fight as Anakin advanced.
"Sky-walker..." Scintel gasped, reaching for him as her life drained away.
"I see the Queen has given you a long leash." Dooku observed, turning to face the young Jedi. He motioned to Wraith and the super-soldier obediently moved out of his way. "But you are too late to save her."
"Why do you think I care about this slaver scum?" Anakin shot back.
"Indeed." Dooku mused, igniting his lightsaber. Anakin quickly called the Queen's whip into his hand and ignited it. The Jedi struck first, only to be parried by Dooku. Each successive attack was met by Dooku's superior form, elegant strikes barring Anakin's every attempt to attack him. A final hard swipe knocked Anakin back and sent the whip flying from his hands, leaving him vulnerable before Dooku. The Count took advanatge by stretching out his hand and unleashing Force-lighting upon him, Anakin thrown to the ground and mercilessly shocked by a dark power far beyond anything the Zygerrians could hit him with. Wraith was ready to intervene, knowing Dooku was determined to see to Skywalker's demise but also knowing the safety of those colonists had to come first.
It was only when a trio of guards entered the throne room that Dooku ceased, all of them gasping upon seeing the collapsed Queen. "She was murdered by the Jedi!" Dooku lied. Anakin realized his precarious position and quickly toggled his commlink, sending a signal straight to Ahsoka. "Take your vengeance!" Dooku commanded, the guards readying their weapons as Anakin collected the dying Scintel in his arms. A sweep from Dooku was narrowly avoided as Anakin used the Force to spring up along the walls and avoid fire from the guards, crashing through the throne room window and onto the waiting Tecora's boarding ramp. The ship promptly left for Kadavo with Ahsoka at the controls, Anakin setting down Scintel.
"Your highness..." he slowly said as Scintel weakly turned to him.
"No... escape," She gasped, a hand clutching her wound, "for any of us..." she offered Anakin his lightsaber back and he took it. Dooku and Wraith's combined efforts had ensured she was on the verge of death. "You were right... Skywalker... I am a slave." She mused with her dying breath. "Just... as you are..." Her final words came with a soft exhale as Scintel went limp in Anakin's arms.
Back in the throne room, Dooku ordered everyone out in pursuit of the Jedi, Wraith the only one staying behind. Now alone, Dooku could sense Wraith's emotions rising and knew there was something on his mind.
"Speak plainly, soldier." He directed. Wraith advanced towards him, ready to give Dooku a piece of his mind.
"You lied to me. You made me complicit in turning fifty-thousand peace-loving innocents into slaves!" He growled, forcing Dooku towards him. "You told me they were going to a safe haven, not this hell!" Dooku remained silent as Wraith continued to vent. "You wanna know why I didn't get any sleep? Because I was forced to watch them die... watch them be tortured... to watch their will shatter and know that I put them here but couldn't do a Forcedamned thing!"
"Your loyalty to your orders is to be commended-" Dooku started to say.
"To hell with loyalty!" Wraith interrupted. "The Jedi are going to Kadavo, they will rescue the colonists and return them to Kiros." Dooku frowned.
"And how did they come by such information, I wonder?" He mused. Wraith did not say a word, but did suddenly cough as he felt the Force grip his neck. "I suspect you exchanged many things when you were in bed with that Tano girl!" Dooku growled, forcing Wraith to his knees. "You disappoint me by keeping such secrets, soldier. Which reminds me, Doctor Scipio said there is something about you we need to discuss. Would you care to enlighten me beforehand?" He asked, continuing to choke Wraith.
"You mean... this?" He rasped. Thrusting out his arms, Dooku was suddenly slammed into a nearby wall and held there by an unseen force.
The Force.
The startled Count watched with wide eyes as Wraith picked himself up, a single hand stretched out to keep him at bay while the other rubbed his neck. Under normal circumstances he would've kept his Force-sensitivity a secret. But today, he simply wasn't having it with Dooku. "Yeah... this just kinda happened one day." He revealed.
"I... don't understand..." Dooku replied, eyes wide as a memory from nearly two-decades ago surfaced in his mind. It should've worked...
"Me neither. But I'm rolling with it." Wraith responded, shifting his arm and pulling Dooku closer to him. The Count stared into his optics as he sensed the Force suddenly alive within him, his signature like a fire that had just received fresh fuel.
"Are you... going to kill me?" He asked.
"Part of me wants to. Very badly. But the Confederacy needs leadership and, let's face it, I'm not a fan of the other guy." Wraith responded. "It still doesn't change the fact you lied to me... and condemned thousands of innocents to a fate worse than death." Dooku could sense his rising fury and knew he needed to take control of this situation.
"Wraith, I-" He was suddenly cut off when he felt the Force constrict his throat. Obviously Wraith had been busy learning all about his newfound powers.
"No, you listen!" Wraith rumbled. "You have lost all of my respect and all of my trust. I thought you were an honorable man. But now... now I have to clean up your mistake. The reputation of the Confederacy will be in shambles after this, our honour lost and our name tainted by your orders! Which, by the way, I'm done following blindly!" Using his powers, Wraith threw Dooku back into the wall before releasing him and letting him fall to the floor. "Know this: I am going to rectify this situation, and I will do what I must using any means necessary." Wraith stated as he started walking. "If you don't hear from me for some time, know that you are the reason why I'm so busy."
"Where did this come from, soldier?" Dooku asked as he rose. "Such brazen boldness and defiance... have your new abilities truly done that much for you?" Wraith stopped and glanced at the Sith over his shoulder, scarlet optic ablaze with power.
"I have a sense of morality, you know. I cannot be programmed like a droid." He bit back. "As for these powers, sure, they're something. But I don't care anymore. If you want to tell someone about them, go ahead. I. Don't. Care." Dooku rubbed his neck as he watched Wraith leave, choosing not to follow him or further interrogate him. Perhaps it would be better to let him purge his feelings and vent his frustrations before trying to converse with him again. The Count was positive he would regain Wraith's trust and ensure it would be total. However, the super-soldier had proven quite powerful the Force. Such a secret had lethal potential, Dooku realized, and he was determined to get a handle on it sooner rather than later.
On Kadavo...
Word of the Queen's death had spread and new operations on Kadavo being carried out under new orders. Dozens of Togrutans were herded into massive rooms without reason and Obi-Wan and Rex were forced into Agruss' command center, the Zygerrian Keeper awaiting them with a message.
"General Kenobi..." he announced as both of his captives were forced to their knees by guards, "someone would like to speak with you." His hover chair moved as a holographic render of Count Dooku appeared in his place.
"Obi-Wan Kenobi, in chains once again I see." The Count greeted.
"Count Dooku. Still afraid to get your hands dirty?" Obi-Wan shot back.
"I would gladly make an exception in your case, old friend." Dooku responded. "I wanted to say a proper farewell before Keeper Agruss puts you to death." He revealed, the Keeper grinning sadistically at the dismayed Republic captives.
But in the skies above, the Tecora had arrived.
Dressed in their Jedi robes, Anakin and Ahsoka were ready to enact their part of the plan. They quickly parked their ship and started moving, R2-D2 right behind them. Monitors in the control room quickly picked up their arrival, however.
"Keeper, the slave-ship Tecora is making an unscheduled landing on platform two-four." One informed Agruss. Dooku immediately knew what was afoot.
"Skywalker."
External defensive cannons quickly pounded the Tecora until it exploded in a ball of fire, Anakin and Ahsoka watching as their potential way out was destroyed. The cannons then opened fire on them, trapping the Jedi outside as the entrance was sealed tight.
"So much for our ride home." Anakin shrugged.
"What now?" Ahsoka asked.
"We get through, the old-fashioned way." Anakin replied, igniting his lightsaber and proceeding to cut a hole into the blast doors.
Back in the command room, Zygerrians were working to quickly route the would-be invaders, Dooku still on the line as he formed a plan of his own.
"Kenobi, tell your young friend Skywalker that if he does not surrender then the slaves will be terminated in his name." He threatened.
Anakin's entrance was nearly complete when the screen to his left flickered and revealed Obi-Wan's dirty face.
"Anakin, I'm glad to see you, but I'm afraid our host feels otherwise." His friend stated.
"Well, you can't make everyone happy, Master." Anakin replied, continuing to cut.
"They're threatening to kill the slaves if you don't surrender." Obi-Wan revealed, causing Anakin to slow for a moment.
"It's good to see you're always ready to negotiate. But I've had enough bargaining with slave drivers." Anakin replied, returning to his work.
"Anakin, you must realize this is a fight you cannot win alone." Obi-Wan pleaded. Anakin turned back to his friend, a glimmer in his eye.
"Who said I came alone?" As he finished speaking, another Aurore-class freighter appeared in the clouds above Kadavo, landing in the same place where the Tecora had once been. Both Jedi turned to see who it was. "That's... not what I was expecting." Anakin clarified.
The ramp slid open and The Wraith bounded out, quickly crossing the courtyard to join them.
"Need some help?" He wondered. Wraith quickly pulled his saber out of the door and turned it on him.
"You can start by explaining why you're here and why I shouldn't kill you." Anakin replied with a growl as Ahsoka beamed.
"I know you don't trust me and, quite frankly, I don't care. I know your history, Skywalker, I know you were a slave." Wraith responded, causing Anakin to grip his lightsaber tighter. "But know that I am here to save these people. I'm done upholding these slave drivers." To emphasize his words, his boot pounded the door, forcing open the hole Anakin hadn't finished cutting. Pushing ahead, Wraith tore it open and rolled inside.
"Anakin, who is that?" Obi-Wan asked.
"My, uh... other backup." Anakin quickly replied as he and Ahsoka followed after Wraith.
Up in space, Plo Koon and the 104th Battlaion arrived, ready to aid Anakin as per his earlier request. Their cruiser quickly launched a squadron of Z-95 headhunters as well as several LAAT transports, led by Plo Koon in a Delta Aethersprite starfighter. The Zygerrians quickly learned of the reinforcements and realized that this would not be nearly as easy as they had first hoped. Plo and his Wolf Pack dove down and began strafing the Zygerrian defences, cutting down the ground defenders but unable to penetrate the shielded torrent defences.
As the building shook, Obi-Wan remembered Wraith's words from the other day. If there was ever a right time, it was now! Taking advantage of the distraction, Obi-Wan burst Rex's collar with the Force.
"Rex, now!" He ordered, quickly destroying his own.
"About time!" The Clone agreed, the two of them quickly splitting up to attack the armed guards, well-timed motions allowing their attacks to snap their bonds.
The Republic was on a full-frontal assault, something that worried Ahsoka as she, Anakin and Wraith stormed the building, the super-soldier up in front and plowing through Zygerrian defenders.
"I hope you told Master Plo to not destroy this place before we're gone." She remarked to Anakin as the building shuddered, both of them stepping over bodies.
"Yeah. Us and the colonists." Anakin agreed.
"Ahsoka, remember the map I gave you?" Wraith asked, slamming a Zygerrian's head into the wall.
"I did. I know where we need to go." She affirmed.
"Then lead the way." He directed, tossing the corpse down.
"You gave her a map?" Anakin wondered as Ahsoka took point.
"She was getting bored staying with me." Wraith excused, leaving out the details concerning their other 'activities'.
Outside, Zygerrian pilots quickly scrambled HH-87 Starhoppers to pursue the invading Republic reinforcements. The Kel Dor and his Z-95 pilots were quick to engage in dogfights with them, Warthog sustaining some minor damage before Plo dealt swiftly with the Zygerrians. The facility's turrets were proving to be an issue, though, one of the gunships shot down and exploding on the surface of the planet. Unless those shields could be deactivated...
Obi-Wan and Rex worked to overwhelm the control room guards, the Clone Captain readily beating them down after days of bing ground under their heels. Obi-Wan was being a little less brutal, but realized that Agruss had taken advantage of the chaos to activate the holding pens the colonists were in. They were designed with electrified walls and a specialized floor that could retract and forcibly drop prisoners in mass quantities into the volcano below.
Which was exactly what he planned to do.
"No!" Obi-Wan cried, too little too late, Agruss throwing him a grin as he slammed the floor release. Rex and Obi-Wan fought harder, knowing they needed to hurry if they wanted to stop Agruss from killing all the Togruta. Rex had commandeered a shock pole and used it to fry one of the guards, before more of them started spilling into the room. Obi-Wan quickly dealt with his guard before scrambling over to the control systems, only to realize that Agruss had destroyed them after inputting the room commands. "The controls are destroyed, Master Plo. There's nothing we can do from here!" He called into his commlink.
"And we cannot move forward with a rescue operation until those cannons are destroyed!" The Kel Dor responded. Their situation looked desperate.
"We'll take care of those cannons." Anakin replied. "Just get that cruiser down here, we are running out of time!" He exclaimed as he, Ahsoka and Wraith charged down the facility halls.
"I'm gonna go help my people, I'll see if I can buy us some time!" Ahsoka stated as she moved down a different hallway.
"Good luck!" Anakin called as they split up. Wraith stayed with Anakin. "What? Not going with her?"
"I'd be of better use disabling the facility's generators." The super-soldier responded. "Besides, after what I've done, I'd just scare the colonists."
"Yeah, freshly spilled blood doesn't exactly win people over." Anakin scoffed.
Ahsoka found the access door as well as the control panel beside it. Having memorized the notes on Wraith's map, she quickly inputted the unlock command and entered, her people astonished by her presence by also greatly relieved. She took a moment to realize that there would be no way to stop the receding floor, not in time that is.
Anakin quickly infiltrated one of the gun towers, killed the crew and turned its firepower on the other cannons. The blasts proved powerful enough to cut through the shields and blow each turret to pieces, effectively annihilating the Zygerrians defences. "You're all clear, Master Plo. Now bring that cruiser down to the landing pad."
"Cancel that order, Master. There's no way to get the people out of the holding cells and up to the landing platform." Ahsoka urgently cut in. They were all effectively cut off. "But I have an idea; we need to move the cruiser under the platform, they can escape onto the ship if Admiral Coburn can get close enough."
"I see where you're going, Ahsoka. But the shields are facility-wide, the cruiser won't be able to get close enough." Anakin countered, knowing that was still a major problem.
"It will in a moment." Wraith stated. "Ahsoka, continue with your plan. The shields will be done soon, trust me."
"I do, Wraith." She replied.
The Republic cruiser had a hard time believing that The Wraith was on the exact same frequency as their commanding officers, but Admiral Coburn ordered Woffle and his men topside with cable guns and rocket packs at the ready regardless.
The last of the guards had finally been dealt with and Obi-Wan pulled his saber from Agruss' chair, holding the Keeper at bladepoint.
"Come now, Master Kenobi. I know a Jedi won't kill an unarmed man." The Zygerrian stated. He was right about that, so Obi-Wan simply turned the job over to Rex, who threw his electroprod with such force it impaled Agruss to his chair, through his heart and killed him instantly.
"I'm no Jedi." The Clone stated. As if to finalize the moment, Agruss' chair spun out of control and into a wall, crushing his body in between.
By the time Coburn had maneuvered the cruiser into position, the shield had indeed dropped, along with the electrified walls surrounding the Togruta. The receding floor was a different story, however, and the Clones moved fast to secure the escaping colonists. Grapple cables stuck to the ceiling, creating zip-lines down to the waiting Clones.
"Okay everyone! Be ready, we'll have to go by groups!" Ahsoka commanded. Her people nodded, weak and wounded but more than ready to leave this accursed place. One by one the jumped to the cables and rode them down to the surface below.
As they did, Anakin secured a private link to Wraith.
"You do realize this changes nothing." Anakin continued. "The Chancellor's ordered you dead. If I meet you on the battlefield again, I won't hesitate to try and fulfill that wish."
"I figured as much." Wraith calmly responded.
"And that I cannot and never will condone your advances towards Ahsoka? She's a Jedi, you know. Even if she did somehow reciprocate your feelings, it would be against her better interests." The Jedi added.
"Preaching to the converted, Skywalker. Doesn't mean I'll stop caring." Wraith concurred, chuckling inwardly as he knew the exact opposite to be true. Anakin could only huff as he clicked off his comms, uniting with Obi-Wan and Rex as they sprinted to an LAAT outside the facility.
The combined efforts of Ahsoka and the Clones ensured every one of the colonists was safely evacuated, the cruiser moving out as the facility began to collapse. The gunships emptied their missiles into the supports holding the Kadavo facility up, reducing them to slag and sending the entire station tumbling into the active volcano below... but not before a certain Aurore-class freighter ascended into the clouds.
Aboard Plo Koon's ship, the colonists were swiftly transferred and tended to by medical personnel. After nearly two weeks of mistreatment, many of them finally got a decent meal into them, even though it mostly consisted of rations. Governor Roshti walked with the Jedi as the situation was summarized.
"I thank you, Jedi, and the Republic for saving our lives." He thanked them.
"Ahsoka is the real hero," Anakin stated, "without her creativity, I don't think we would've gotten your people to safety." He explained, his apprentice bashful in the face of such praise.
"Indeed." Roshti agreed. "Padawan Tano, might I have a word?"
"Of course," Ahsoka replied, following the elder Togruta.
"Ahsoka, you have done a great deed for your people today." His words were filled with praise, but Ahsoka could sense some melancholy behind them.
"You're sad."
"Well, the Jedi have done their best, but I do not think my people will recover form this horror anytime soon." Roshti admitted.
"I understand." Her traumatic brush with the true cruelty of the Zygerrians had offered her only a taste of what these people had experienced. If not for Wraith...
She suddenly wished he was here now. If not for him, the operation might've never gone ahead. He deserved some of this praise, too. His efforts had ensured all of these colonists were safe. "But in the end, surviving this will only strengthen the people."
"Perhaps. Perhaps the people of Kiros will also join the Republic." Roshti suggested.
"I think that's a wise choice, Governor." Ahsoka agreed with a smile. Suddenly, she saw Anakin int he background, motioning her over. "Excuse me,"
"Of course. But if I may," Roshti added in parting, "you will be remembered by our people for a long time, Padawan Tano. You are the Savior of Kiros."
Now that had a nice ring to it.
"Thank you. I'm honored, Governor." Ahsoka replied, politely bowing before rejoining her fellow Jedi. "What is it Master?" She asked.
"Admiral Coburn is patching through a Separatist transmission... apparently someone wants a word with us." Anakin revealed. A startled Ahsoka joined Obi-Wan and Plo as R2 powered up his holoprojector. Within moments, a familiar appearance shimmered to life before them.
"Wraith!" Ahsoka exclaimed.
"Based on the chatter I'm hearing, it sounds like Kadavo was a rousing success." He greeted.
"Anakin, this was your 'other backup'?" Obi-Wan wondered.
"Not by choice." His friend replied with a sigh. "He kinda... forced his way onto our team."
"Yes, Wraith. The colonists are all heading back to Kiros now." Ahsoka told the super-soldier.
"Good." He affirmed with a nod.
"Though we will not able to return all of them. There are many who have died or were lost." Ahsoka added, knowing that this ship was not carrying the original fifty-thousand. The Jedi all fell silent, taking a moment to mourn the lives of those they could not save. Wraith understood, the memory of Tyria Halva one that would stick with him for a long time.
"The dead cannot be restored, but the living can." He stated, their attention swiftly returning to him. "Several of the colonists were sold on Zygerria through smaller, crown-authorized auctions. I've acquired a list of every buyer and where they're located." Wraith revealed to them. "And I was wondering if any of you would like to join me in rescuing them?"
Author's Note: Phew, what a trip. Well? Whaddya think? Should Wraith's quest to save the colonists be joined by the Jedi? Let me know!
