Author's Note: Holy sweet mother of softness, it's been a hot minute since I posted! I have no idea what took me so long, but today's this story's 4-year anniversary so I had to do something!

And on that note, thank you all so very much for 4 years of ongoing shenanigans! I know this story isn't for everyone, but the fact you even tried to give it a read is enough for me and I want to thank everyone who took a risk giving this monster a whirl. You have no idea how much your comments mean to me... except the flames. Those can sod right off. But the positive reviews, the criticisms, I listen to it all. This is a collaborative journey we're on... and if you wanna feel even more heard, why not join our WraithSaga Discord! Just follow this link to jump in on regular craziness and exclusive sneak peeks/uploads: / e3rMUgm9BQ

Alright, enough of my rambling, I've made y'all wait long enough. Here's a new chapter!

Tonight... Scipio makes sparks fly. Dynnal sleeps in. And there's a catfight on Zolan.


-Chapter 138: Beware the Banshee's Cry-

Location: Zolan

"A confident enemy is susceptible to hidden faults."

Clanging metal filled the lab with a constant noise as Sereva entered. Despite her blue uniform, her bright red skin stood in stark contrast to the grey of the room, a vivid source of color amongst the dull and drab lab equipment. It served to mask her footsteps as she approached the hunched-over figure, who was so focused on wielding all manner of tools he did not notice her until she arrived beside him.

"Doctor?" The Twi'lek wondered, touching his shoulder. Scipio's head jerked up form his work, his eyes locking on to hers from behind his protective goggles.

"Oh! Greetings, Admiral!" He said, dropping his tools and lifting his eyewear. "Always a pleasure to have you drop by." Glancing around the Pau'an, Sereva caught a glimpse of his current project.

"What're you working on?" She inquired.

"Oh, just some side projects is all." Scipio mused in response, turning to gesture at his latest works-in-process. Three total items lay on the workbench, all of them wired up to one another. "With so much free time on my hands, I... I figured I had some opportunity to experiment and... test." He added quietly, trailing off as a gloom settled over the conversation. Sereva tilted her head, sensing something was amiss and that she knew exactly what was ailing him.

"Doctor..." She asked, placing a scarlet hand on his arm. "Are you okay?"

"H-How do you mean?" Scipio quickly replied.

"Doc. You know what I mean." Sereva answered softly, her tone knowing and empathetic. A sigh escaped the Pau'an's mouth and his shoulders slumped simultaneously.

"I've been better." He confessed. "There's not a day that goes by where I wish some different fate had befallen him." Not looking up, his hand absentmindedly rubbed the workbench, his mind dwelling on their unfortunate reality.

"I know. I miss him too." Sereva offered sympathetically, giving his arm a friendly pat.

"Of course, the rantings and ravings of Banshee don't help much either." Scipio continued off hand. "Always carrying on about some hair-brained scheme. She's a confusing woman, she is." He muttered.

"Do... Do you think there might be some truth to what she says? That there might be a way to bring Wraith back?" Sereva queried hesitantly. Pausing to consider the notion for a moment, like he had once before, Scipio's opinion on the matter was mixed.

"In my opinion, Sereva, Wraith is a man of incalculable strength and mental fortitude. Whatever is keeping him away from us must be truly powerful to keep him at bay as it is." He theorized.

"Then you think the rumors are true? That Wraith is different from this 'Dynnal'?" Sereva pressed.

"Oh, I know he is. I was there the day he finished his synaptic reprogramming. 'Dynnal' went into that med bay... and Wraith came out." Scipio replied, recalling that crucial moment well. "This Dynnal may be even stronger than I gave him credit for initially. But if I know Wraith, and I certainly think I do, I know it's only a matter of time before he recovers his strength and possibly evolves beyond even my initial calculations to prove stronger than the bonds holding him prisoner." He explained. "At least... I hope so."

"I hope so too, Doctor." Sereva agreed, flicking her lekku off her shoulders as she turned and leaned against the workbench. "Did I ever tell you about the little conversations he and I shared from time to time? We'd pass each other in the hall, make small talk, just be people. Normal. Unlike most others in the galaxy, he didn't look at me like I was inferior or didn't belong. He always talked to me like an equal. It had been a long time since anyone had ever done so." She described. A pleasant look came over her face as she recalled those memories. In recent days, she'd come to think more and more about Wraith in a positive light. She always had to a degree, but without him, it made the Admiral come to an even greater appreciation of the super-soldier. "I suppose the saying is true; you don't know what you've got until it's gone." She added wistfully.

"Yes, how true." Scipio agreed.

"I won't lie, Doctor. I want him back, badly. This ship... it seems a little empty without him around. The other super-soldiers... well, they're just not him." Sereva admitted.

"I know, Admiral. I feel similarly." Scipio told her, taking a turn to sympathize with her. After a moment, he discarded his gloves and removed his goggles. "Perhaps we might share our woes over a cup of tea?" He offered, hoping to lighten the rather forlorn mood. It worked and Sereva smiled brightly.

"I have some time to do that. I'll go raid my private stash." She offered, making to leave.

"I'll be along shortly." Scipio called after her, properly stowing his lab equipment away. After Sereva had left, Scipio straightened up and face the work on the bench, staring at it longingly. "Do come home to us, my boy. The Confederacy needs you..." He said, gazing upon the vacant optics of the new helmet and the new metal collar it was connected to, "we need you."


The corridors were dark, the walls vaguely visible even when close at hand. But thanks to his enhanced eyes, he could see well enough to track the shadowy figure fleeing from him.

Dynnal bolted down the hall with a pistol in hand, armed and primed the moment he had a good shot. For now, his target was too far away and he needed to get closer. Catching glimpses of them as they ducked around corners in the winding corridor, Dynnal was hellbent on catching up to them, his super-soldier training kicking in as he rounded each turn with speed and agility. He soon arrived at a long hall that stretched outwards into total darkness. His eyes proved to be of little use so he instead stretched out with the Force and felt the simple signature of another being, attempting to hide from him.

"I know you're here." He called out, pistol raised. "Show yourself." His gaze swept back and forth, Dynnal's whole body taut and ready to spring at a moment's notice. Despite this, he was caught off guard when a pair of angular red optics materialized out of the gloom. "You!?" He gasped in recognition. The optics tilted slightly to the side... and blinked.

"Yes. It is I." Wraith answered. Suddenly, a rush of flame illuminated the hall with glaring brightness, forming a pair of wings behind the armored form of the Separatist. Dynnal stumbled backwards, his expression frozen in astounded fright as Wraith stalked towards him, his optics blinking like eyes. Then the lower portion of his mask split open, revealing jagged teeth curling into a sadistic smile. "Did you miss me, Dynnal Karn?" He asked. Dynnal did not respond, still in shock. Wraith cackled. "Your opinion is irrelevant anyway. All that matters is the reality confronting you." Flexing his hand, Wraith lifted Dynnal off the ground with the Force, Tyth appearing in his other hand and igniting with a flash of fiery white light. "Turns out the Sith are right, Dynnal. Letting my hatred grow in this... isolated exile is making me stronger. I'm growing stronger, Dynnal, and there's nothing you can do to stop me." Tugging the adolescent close to his armored visage, the helmet suddenly pulled itself to pieces and folded away, revealing a mirror image of Dynnal's face save for a pair of glowing reptilian eyes.

"One day soon, I will return..."

Dynnal bolted upright in bed with a gasp, sweat clinging to his muscular body as the nightmare receded. Raising a hand to his brow, he wiped the sweat away and tried to steady his breathing. "What the hell was that?" He asked himself. Had that been something conjured from his subconscious? He sincerely hoped it was not a vision of things to come.

Needing to clear his head, he reached for the communicator on his nightstand and checked his messages. A single notification had been left behind and the sender ID belonged to none other than his father, Corsair. Toggling the feed, the simple sentence appeared before him in short lines.

'Got a job for you. When you finally get up, head to Hahlli's. I'll brief you there.' Realizing he'd slept in longer than intended, Dynnal threw off the covers with a grumble and looked around for his clothes.


Elsewhere in the galaxy...

Found in the Mid Rim's Lambda Sector and the system of the same name, Zolan was an arid world beset by troubles on a societal level. In ancient times, a meteorite had struck the planet and unleashed a planet-wide contagion that afflicted the native Zolanders with a vulnerability to solar radiation. In their attempts to cure this ailment, Zolander scientists experimenting with radial gene therapy procedures wound up creating a brand new species: the shape-shifting Clawdites.

Enough Clawdites were created that they formed their own society, which was totally marginalized by the more-dominant Zolanders. Tensions between Clawdite and Zolander species had been on a slow rise since the apartheid divide was created, reaching a boiling point as the Clone Wars engulfed the galaxy. Seeking liberation from Zolander oppression, the Clawdites cried out to the Separatist Council for aid. Count Dooku chose to give it to them, recalling the usefulness of the Clawdite bounty hunter Zam Wesell and believing an indebted planet of Clawdites could form the greatest intelligence division in galactic history. He therefore sent the super-soldier Banshee to lead an army of battle droids to the planet in an effort to overthrow the Republic-aligned Zolanders.

Given how this was a Separatist incursion into the Mid Rim and that they were willfully besieging a Republic-aligned world, the Senate chose to respond with equal swiftness and deployed the famed 501st Legion in defence of the Zolanders.

Anakin led his men down to the planet's surface, a place that was barren and wasted with empty plains stretching as far as the eye could see, with every intention of setting up a base and establishing a presence. Hopefully he could speak with the local Zolander government in order to get a good sense of the scope of the Clawdites' involvement in the conflict and get some good relations running with the Zolanders. Unfortunately, that chance was not about to immediately present itself.

"General, we're picking up dozens of incoming signatures. Looks like the droid army's trying ot meet us, sir!" The LAAT pilot quickly informed the Jedi.

"Then I guess it's a good thing we're still in the air." Anakin mused. "Rex, you and your men combat-ready?"

"Honestly General, we were hoping for a good scrap when we made landfall." The Clone captain responded, drawing a fully-primed DC from his holster. Anakin grinned.

"Pilot, take us in weapons hot. Time to torch the welcome wagon." He ordered. The pilot obliged and diverted the rest of the arriving gunships towards the incoming droid army, bay doors sliding open to allow his passengers a look at their enemy. Hanging out the side of the LAAT, Anakin and his men were able to get a very good look at the distant droid army; masses of B1 and B2-model battle droids along with hailfire droids and spider-walkers dotted the flat landscape, stretching wide and far beyond what the naked eye could see.

"They really rolled out the welcome mat, didn't they General?" Rex mused.

"You can say that again, Rex. I'm just happy they didn't catch us with our pants down." Anakin remarked in response. Having had some time to formulate an idea, the Knight reached for his comms and called out to his apprentice in the opposite gunship. "Looks like we're gonna have company, Ahsoka."

"Did they bring a housewarming present?" The Togruta jested in response. Anakin smirked and rolled his eyes.

"I don't think they're gonna be very neighbourly." He mused. "Take your men and skirt around their position. See if you can find a weakness or a flaw with their plan. Let's clear the air so we can take them down." He tasked. Able to see Ahsoka across the way, the affirmative nod she gave was all he needed before her transport pulled back from the lineup and veered away from the oncoming confrontation. Turning back to the task at hand, Anakin devised another plan of attack. "All units, prepare to go in hot." He radioed to every gunship in the squadron. A pair of Clones quickly crawled into the stored composite beam-emitter cannons before they swung out from the ship as the pilot primed the weapon systems, another Clone squeezing past his brothers to mount an AT-RT walker at the back of the ship.

Forming a flying wing, the gunships unleashed a payload of cutting beams and explosive mass driver payloads before they touched down to disgorge their passengers. Igniting his cobalt blade, Anakin led the charge alongside Rex as the Republic Army attacked the incoming droids. Some of the gunships were shot out of the sky by the spider walkers and Anakin made it a priority to drop them first.

Meanwhile, Ahsoka's gunship had traveled in a wide, lazy arc around the Separatist advance in a surveillance pattern. The opportunity to steer clear of the fight allowed them to scope out the true size of this initial fighting force, and there was little doubt that plenty more were waiting to be deployed elsewhere.

"Sure did bring a lot of clankers, didn't they?" A Clone remarked.

"We'll make sure those tinnies get theirs." Ahsoka promised. "Pilot, take us around their position, I wanna see if they've left their flanks exposed." Doing as asked, the Clone quickly maneuvered the gunship away from the fighting and throttled up, the LAAT speeding towards the rear of the droid position.

"If we see a weak spot, Commander. Does General Skywalker want us to hit it?" Another Clone inquired.

"And hit it hard." Ahsoka concurred. "But given the size of this force, that may be-" her thought was cut short by something prickling at the edge of her senses. It was the Force, warning her. It grew sharper and more direct with each passing second until she knew with absolute certainty that they were in danger. "Pilot! Look out!" Her warning came too little too late as solid sonic energy slammed into the gunship's nose, crushing metal and shattering the glass canopy. Sensitive instrument panels were destroyed immediately, sparking and smoking as they were shattered by the sustained burst of sound waves. The pilot was knocked out and lost control of the ship, Ahsoka and her men staggering in the hold. Some fell out, plummeting towards the ground with screeching cries of terror, others managed to hold on to supports and maintain their balance. Ahsoka quickly rooted out the source of the danger when she spied a small, silver form standing on a hilly outcrop down below.

Even at a distance, Banshee still looked like an imposing foe. Her shiny silver armor gleamed in the light and her unique blue-white bodysuit radiated the colours of her homeworld's soldiers. Her extended arm allowed her Shriekburst emitter to pummel the LAAT with focused sonic energy, blasting the nose to a crumpled heap as it veered towards the ground. Her crimson optics scanned over the craft as her internal mechanics tracked the visible passengers.

"Well well well... looks like luck is with me." She mused with a grin, her optical HUD targeting the sole Togruta aboard. She had been slow to the frontlines of the fight as she stopped to analyze the Republic's attack attempt. This gunship had just happened to come her way and, to her joy, it was carrying the one Jedi she had every intention of killing.

The battle could wait. Today was the day Ahsoka Tano died.

Tracking the gunship's descent, Banshee waited until the craft had collided with the ground and skidded to a halt in a twisted, ruined wreck before she broke into a sprint and gave chase. A small part of her hoped that the Jedi might've been killed in the crash, but she simultaneously wanted Ahsoka alive just so she could have the pleasure and satisfaction of killing her herself.

The LAAT came to a rest on its side, Ahsoka and her men having been flung about and were barely able to keep themselves within the confines of the ship's hold. Some had not been so lucky and had bounced out, a pair of troopers strewn across the ground in disheveled disarray. Ahsoka and the others picked themselves up with groans, assessing their situation and how badly some of them had faired. Several Clones had fallen under the ship and were crushed on impact, a few others had broken bones, and the rest were still in one piece albeit nursing bruises. Having been rattled by the impact herself, Ahsoka shook her head and summoned the Force to purge her body of minor aches and ailments, giving her a fresh head to command with.

"Damage report, sound off if you can." She ordered her men, climbing out of the gunship.

"Most of us are here, Commander. We lost Jumper and Shank, Conrad and Jinx are both beat-up pretty bad. But the rest of us are here." A sergeant reported. Ahsoka nodded in understanding and turned to the Clones outside the gunship.

"You two okay?" She asked.

"Nothing a little bacta can't cure, Commander." The first one said with a groan as he stood and stretched, feeling sore after his tumble.

"Yeah, we're right as rain, Commander. Rarin' to go, too!" The second added with a little more gusto. Ahsoka breathed a sigh of relief.

Then the rearmost Clone cried out as a pair of blue blade tips exploded through his chest, his body impaled on Banshee's saber gauntlet. The super-soldier moved like lightning, throwing him aside and attacking his partner just as he got a few shots off with his DC. The rounds ricocheted off her armor as Banshee spun and cleaved him in two. Ahsoka quickly drew her lightsabers and made to engage her, only for the Umbaran to snap up her other arm and prime her Shriekburst emitter.

"I'll get to you in a moment." She hissed, hitting Ahsoka with a blast of solid sonic energy that knocked her off her feet and sent her tumbling. Taking advantage of the moment, Banshee leapt into the gunship's hold and proceeded to butcher every single Clone present, hacking them to pieces with her lightsabers. Lacking the proper equipment to fight back, the Clones were helpless and not a single one survived Banshee's onslaught. By the time Ahsoka was back on her feet and racing towards the gunship, Banshee was hopping out with a Clone helmet in her hand. The Togruta slowed her advance as the super-soldier casually tossed the item towards her, the decapitated head rolling across the ground. "Your men are dead... and soon, you will be too." Banshee threatened. Ahsoka narrowed her eyes, shoving down the feelings of failure and frustration in favor of focusing her brewing rage into combat instincts.

"I wouldn't count on that." She retorted in a low, growling voice. A hiss from the Umbaran turned into a shrieking war cry as Banshee rushed Ahsoka at top speed, the Togruta racing to meet her in a head-on clash. Blue sabers ground against green as the two slammed into each other, rebounding as they counterattacked with wide, heavy swings that struck and parried with focused force.

Using the Force to boost her attacks, Ahsoka struck with relentless agility and ferocity, matching Banshee blow for blow as their rapid combat escalated. Extending two fingers, Ahsoka channeled a Force push that sent Banshee head over heels, the super-soldier landing on her feet and sliding to a halt a few feet away. Her head snapping up, Banshee studied the attacking Togruta briefly as she put a plan into action. She had the necessary skills and power to overwhelm a Jedi. It was high time she put them to good use.

Ahsoka drew close and tracked with both weapons, her saber and shoto swinging in tandem to deliver harder blows that Banshee resisted. The super-soldier took a chance and, blocking one of her strikes, applied her immensely powerful arm strength to bend Ahsoka's arms to the side, nearly pushing her sabers into the ground. With her block overextended, leaving her vulnerable, Ahsoka had no time to react as Banshee's free hand lashed out and gripped her neck. "Hrk!" Ahsoka gagged as she was suddenly lifted off her feet, her neck trapped within Banshee's crushing grip. The super-soldier eyed her through her optics.

"I could kill you with such simplistic ease," she taunted, increasing her grip on the Togruta's throat and causing her to choke, "but I think I'll savor this moment first." Lightsabers deactivating, Banshee landed a hard blow right to Ahsoka's abdomen, knocking the wind from lungs. Struggling to recover with an iron grip on her throat, Ahsoka was still gasping and gurgling when Banshee landed a steel-knuckle blow to her face. A second crashed into her cheek before Banshee turned and threw her across the ground, the Togruta sent tumbling in a flailing heap as her lightsabers skittered across the ground.

For a brief moment, Ahsoka coughed to regain her breath, tasting blood in her mouth. But as she tried to crawl to her hands and knees, the piercing wail of Banshee's sonic emitter preceded a burst of ultrasonics that sent a sharp pain through her montrals. Ahsoka clutched her head and cried out in pain, unable to silence the deafening noise as Banshee drew steadily closer. Upon her prey once again, Banshee landed a swift kick to Ahsoka's jaw that knocked her flat on her back, the Togruta gasping in further pain until Banshee was upon her once again and her gloved hand was grasping her neck. "Your precious Force cannot save you," she growled, landing a swift punch that caught Ahsoka across the face, "your pathetic Jedi skills cannot help you," another punch and Ahsoka felt her eye swelling up, "in the grand scheme of things, you really are nothing." Banshee hissed, hoisting Ahsoka off the ground. Before Ahsoka could even think of something to say or a countermeasure to free herself, the super-soldier drew back her fist and drove it into her side, taking much satisfaction in the crack of a broken rib.

The Togruta bit back a scream, a burning pain flooding her side. Beneath her helmet, Banshee smiled, taking pride in the pain she was inflicting. "Would you like to choose how you die, Jedi? I know many ways." To further her sadistic glee, a second hand grabbed Ahsoka by the throat and squeezed with equal intensity. Ahsoka choked, gagged, her eyes widening as her airway was severely constricted. "Perhaps you'd like me to choke you out? Want a slow death, little schutta?" Banshee asked in a sadistically teasing tone. Struggling to remain conscious as Banshee's grip grew tighter and harsher, a last-minute idea came to Ahsoka and she held her hands apart and focused on the Force.

"Not... particularly..." she gasped, summoning a tremendously powerful Force pull that ripped Banshee's hands off of her neck, allowing her to drop to the ground and cough for air. With some air finally moving through her lungs, Ahsoka looked up just in time for Banshee to land a punch that crashed into her mouth, splitting her lip and sending blood splattering across the ground.

"Cute trick. Too bad it won't save you." The Umbaran growled as she grabbed Ahsoka by the head and pulled her against her, both arms encircling her head until both hands were gripping her headtails. Ahsoka struggled, able to put in more effort since she could actually breathe. "Sure, you can spare yourself a choking. How about I crush you instead?" Applying pressure to both sides of her head, Banshee slowly started crushing Ahsoka's headtails. Gritting her teeth and squeezing her eyes shut as she struggled to free herself, the Togruta could imagine her head getting crushed by Banshee. She'd seen the damage Wraith could do, this Umbaran would have no trouble popping her head...

She needed the Force, it was her only ally right now. But while it occurred to her that she might be able to push or pull Banshee's arms the right way, the increasing pressure on her sensitive headtails was making that much easier said than done. Unable to focus as the pain grew more intense, Ahsoka was on the verge of crying out. But instead of giving in, she reached out into the Force.

"I am-ngh!... o-one with the Force... and the Force is-hrk!... with me." She whispered.

"What's that? I can't hear you whimper." Banshee sneered. But Ahsoka ignored her and kept reaching, the Togruta feeling a pulse of light just beyond her senses. So close... so close...

"I am one... with the Force... and the Force is with me." She said again, reaching out with her mind as if her own hands were trying to reach the light. The pain grew fiercer, red flashes erupting across her vision as pain flooded her headtails, causing her to gasp. "I am one with the Force... and the Force is with me."

"Quit mumbling, Jedi. Makes your death dull and boring." Banshee mocked, forcibly lifting Ahsoka off her feet. The Togruta grunted, struggling as Banshee continued to crush her headtails. She could see the light in her minds eye, a ball of power... hers for the taking...

"I am one with the Force... and the Force is with me!" She cried, finally feeling the warming power bathe her essence and flood her body. The instant she did, a burst of power erupted from her body as a set of four, white, luminous wings snapped out of her back with enough force to knock Banshee to the ground. The pain in her head and side subsided instantly, Ahsoka feeling more alive than ever before. The intense glow from her wings was enough to blind Banshee, her optics unable to calibrate and polarize in time.

"What the... hell?" She wondered, stunned by Ahsoka's sudden burst of power. As the light died down and Ahsoka dropped to her feet, the wings disappeared as Ahsoka turned around to face her attacker. "So... guess you've still got a few tricks up your sleeve." Banshee mused as she picked herself up. "I'd say I'm impressed, it it wasn't so lame." By now, Ahsoka could feel a bruise forming around her eye and taste her own blood, and she was thoroughly done with being a punching bag.

"You want tricks, Seppie?" She asked, quickly plotting the best way to deal with the Umbaran. Balling her hands into fists and remembering the lessons Wraith imparted to her on Parnassos, Ahsoka set herself up in a combat-ready posture. "I'll show you some tricks." Taking one look at her stance, the super-soldier chuckled menacingly and rolled her shoulders.

"Guess I let you pick how you wanna die after all." She remarked, ready to fight as well. Quickly throwing herself headlong towards Ahsoka with her iconic battle screech, Banshee struck first with a wild haymaker that Ahsoka quickly parried. The Togruta was thinking on her feet, as Wraith had taught her. She knew Banshee's armor meant that her own attacks would do very little without some form of aid. She had to look for a weakness and find a flaw in her attack patterns.

Again, easier said than done.

Banshee's wild, hard-hitting blows came fast and furious, Ahsoka barely able to dodge or block each one. Those she did block usually meant her forearms took the brunt of the impact, and even her gloves couldn't ward off the bruises she felt growing there. Everything from one-two job combos to flying dropkicks came at Ahsoka, Banshee all over the place and proving to be a difficult combatant. "At least make it a challenge! You can't even fight properly!" Banshee jeered, pummeling Ahsoka's raised arms with multiple punches before landing a knee in her exposed abdomen, Ahsoka gasping for air again before Banshee converted the knee into a lunge kick and sent Ahsoka sprawling.

The Togruta climbed to her feet just in time to block an overhead chop, a brief pain flaring in her arms and causing her to grunt as Banshee laid into her again. She recalled Wraith's words and his calm instruction soothed her some. Her moment would come, he'd taught her that much. "Come on! Kriffing do something, you're wasting my time!" Banshee yelled, unleashing a push kick that Ahsoka sidestepped. In a split second, she spied an unarmored patch of bodysuit in the area of thigh and groin. Sensing an opportunity, Ahsoka crouched low and summoned the Force to envelop her fist as she through a straight jab.

"As you wish!" She said with a smile. The blow slammed hard into Banshee, the additional Force-enhancement rippling through her hip adductor muscle, causing inflammation and strain that the super-soldier felt immediately. A synthesized cry of pain escaped the super-soldier as Banshee dropped, trying to find a comfortable position to keep the pain from flaring up.

"AH! You... You damn Jedi whore!" A string of Umbaran curses followed suit as Banshee's fists flailed in an attempt to counterattack and land a satisfying hit. Ahsoka stood back far enough that none of them would land effectively and, the moment Banshee paused as she determined this wasn't working, the Jedi lunged forward and grabbed Banshee by the left arm, applying a little Force strength to throw the super-soldier over her shoulder with a cry. The Umbaran slammed into the ground, Banshee momentarily taken aback by Ahsoka's rapid turnabout. So taken aback that Ahsoka found time to wrap herself around Banshee's arm and bend it in a submission hold Wraith had taught her as a method to stop her enemies in their tracks.

Of course, he'd been referring to common everyday enemies... not super-soldiers.

"Argh... you can be a little trickster when you wanna..." Banshee mused as Ahsoka tugged to no avail. Seeing her intentions, the Umbaran forced her muscles to go taut, effectively trapping Ahsoka with an arm of steel. "I'll give you that... and a few more bruises to boot!" Lifting her up off the ground with superior strength, Banshee slammed her arm into the ground on the opposite side of her, taking Ahsoka along with it and mashing her face into the ground. The impact hurt, but the Togruta stubbornly clung to her. Whipping her arm back, Banshee sent Ahsoka crashing back-first into the ground again.

"Ooof!" She gasped, struggling to hold on as her rear lekku was crushed between her body and solid ground. Banshee lifted up and did it again, Ahsoka loosing a brief cry of pain as she struggled to hold on. She needed a way out, she needed Banshee stopped. Now.

"Do you really think you can stop a super-soldier?" The Umbaran questioned when she realized Ahsoka was no longer attacking but holding on for dear life. "You're pathetic. Being a Jedi has made you soft and you don't stand a chance. I've turned the tables, I've got the upper hand, what can you possibly do now?" As she finished, Ahsoka looked up with a gleam in her eyes. Despite her dirty, bruised and battered appearance, she managed a smirk as she recalled some of the injuries she'd been taught about while growing up in the Temple.

"Improvise." She answered. Pressing her boots against Banshee's body, she tugged one more time. But as she did, she simultaneously reached out with the Force and wrapped an invisible grip around Banshee's extended arm muscles, finding her exerted deltoid... and tugged.

The combined momentum tore her muscle, strands of the fibrous material shredding like cut cloth beneath her skin. Banshee howled in pain as her arm fell limp, connected by bone and nerves but losing all strength and the ability to move it. Laying on the ground writhing and groaning loudly in pain, Banshee could no longer continue as Ahsoka released her and stood.

"You know, I should probably kill you. After all, you killed my men in cold blood." Ahsoka said, sounding rather cold for a Jedi. Summoning the Force, she called her lightsabers to her hands and ignited them both. A spluttering cough left Banshee's mouth as the Umbaran grit her teeth and bit back a scream as she rolled over, her shoulder already swelling painfully beneath her constrictive armor. She glanced up, her optics blazing as if the raw, unbound hatred she felt was manifesting in them as they tracked the Jedi Padawan.

"This isn't over, Tano!" She growled. "There's a reason why we super-soldiers are so hard to kill." Her good hand reached for her belt, withdrawing a unique Gacerite sonic grenade. Arming it within a single toggle, Banshee dropped the grenade at Ahsoka's feet. The Togruta's eyes widening in recognition, Ahsoka turned and used the Force to make a big leap away before the explosive detonated.

What followed was not a flash of light unleashing fire and heat and razor-sharp shrapnel, but a wave of pure sonic energy, running at a high frequency so potent it would blow out the eardrums of anyone close to it. Banshee was already moving, her helmet's audio receptors cancelling out the noise with a preferential 'mute' setting as she scrambled away from the scene on one good leg and a very immobilized arm. The blastwave partially carried her, propelling her further across Zolan's wasteland and putting a healthy distance between her and Ahsoka.

The Padawan, on the other hand, used the Force to created a shield around herself that would break the incoming sonic wave, but the passing vibrational forces did rattle her headtails most unpleasantly, her sensitive hearing organs buzzing painfully as the sonic assault passed on either side of her. As it receded, she breathed a sigh of relief and it was then that her adrenaline surge died down and the pain in her side flared anew. She grimaced, grunting and doubling over as she took a wobbly step forward. In the distance, Banshee's voice roared across the distance between them. "Mark my words; I'LL KILL YOU YET!" She swore. Shaking off the encounter with a wag of her head, the Togruta turned her wrist over and spoke into her comm.

"If anyone can hear me, this is commander Ahsoka Tano. I'm behind enemy lines... and could use a med-evac." She radioed, hoping her master or at least one of the 501st could hear her. There was no way she was getting past the droid army in her current state. But she had to get close and so she started hobbling back towards the battle, one hand on her side.

Banshee did likewise, clutching her arm to try and keep any subtle movement from agitating her pained shoulder. She could no longer fight, nor did she have the means to flick on her saber gauntlet. She needed to heal, get stitched back together before she tried again. Her personal mission had been a failure this time, but Banshee knew now to not take Ahsoka lightly. She could be a fighter and pull out a surprise or two when necessary.

It just meant she had to try all the harder, and get a little inventive herself, the next time they faced off. There was still no question about it in Banshee's mind: Ahsoka Tano had to die.


Author's Note: Well, Banshee's trying and Ahsoka's surprising. Where will it all lead? That, my dear readers, is coming soon...

I want to say thanks to everyone again for your continual support of this story. Things on the real-life front are sorta... crap, so this little escape of ours is certainly helpful. Ever wanna chat and get some IRL issues off your chest? Shoot me a PM, I'm here to listen, chat, whatever you need. In the meanwhile, you can hopefully expect more chapters from me since, well, I lost my job recently. I'm looking at going back to school, but until that happens, I've got waaaaay too much free time on my hands.

And as always, it's time to round out this anniversary chapter with a look at what's on the horizon! Coming down the pipe sometime this next year or so...

-Actions have consequences... as always.

-Bad guys do good things and good guys do... bad things?

-The Republic unleashes their own super-soldiers!

-An invasion of epic proportions.

-A reveal that will shake the galaxy for ever.

-Frustration is gettin' bigger, bang bang bang, pull my devil trigger...

-Bury the light deep within, cast aside there's no coming home...

-And something literally EVERYONE'S been wanting to see will actually happen.

So until next time, stay sane and be smart! Don't get jabbed with any wooden nickels!