Thank you all for giving me your condolences for the loss I just had in my family. It really means a lot to me. I greatly appreciate it.

Anyways, it's time for the final chapter of the Shili arc. Be prepared to be amazed as well as you usually are with my chapters. Disclaimers are the same as before, please enjoy.

Chapter 33: Erupting Burning Finger

March 30th 2019 20BBY

1403 hours

Shili

Normal point of view

While the assault on the capital by the two mechs was finished, gunships belonging to the 501st, 212th, 41st, Kota's militia and 639th flew over the tree top of the lush forest accompanied with fighter escorts led by Ranas Tano and Admiral Halberton who was piloting the Azura Angel and leading Red squad along with the Togruta Airforce.

Along with the fighters, the Preserver and Lagoon flew a few meters ahead of the formation to intercept any incoming enemy aircraft before they could get close to the formation. "Anything on the scopes Benny-boy?" Dutlas asked his twi'lek companion.

"Nothing boss. No sign of any hostiles. That's the problem, they should have been on us by now." Benny said, double checking the radar to make sure he didn't make a mistake. "Maybe those bastards ran out of fighters." Revy said disappointed.

"That isn't like them. They still have a bunch of control ships in the air. Those things carry over 1,500 vultures and there were over eighteen of them. We were able to destroy fifteen of them but there are still three of them." Shoda said.

"Doesn't matter, I still think we are in the clear." Revy stated. She was about to say something else but was rudely interrupted when the Preserver fired its upper turret into the air. "You may want to rethink that two-hands. We got bogies coming in from 10'o clock high." Lucia stated.

She was right, coming towards the formation were the remaining enemy fighters. While the rest of the enemy fleet had either been destroyed or retreated the control ships stayed behind and continued to transmit orders to the Scarab fighters while the others were controlled by newer B1 droids or droid brains.

"Generals we have a lot of fight coming our way. I recommend you land now and get the gunships out of here. We'll take care of the enemy fighters." Vaer said before a barrage of crossbow missiles, laser rounds and 30mm cannon rounds flew towards the enemy formation destroying a good portion of the enemy fighters.

"Roger that Vaer, we'll start landing now. We'll have to go the rest of the way on foot, but the Rhommel's have already made it to their position. They'll do what they can before we get there." Anakin said over the commlink from the cockpit of Belial which like its counterpart the Uziel was given an extra Crossbow missile launcher. "I hope I can handle this thing." Anakin said to himself before moving his mech's torso to the left, targeted a group of incoming vultures and fired a salvo of sixteen missiles at the incoming fighters destroying them in a fireball.

"Well if Ahsoka can operate these vehicles, then so can I." he said before moving ahead of the troops and armor with Barney, Cassie and Rex who were in the Mad Dog, Summoner and Catapult for additional firepower and escort duty. "We'll move ahead of the convoy and eliminate the hostiles trying to intercept the enemy forces before they can get close to us. We can't lose a single tank or walker." Anakin reminded the others.

"Don't worry General Skywalker. We'll make the clanker rue the day they came off the assembly line." Rex said following his general with the Mad Dog. His radar then blared to life, a large formation of enemy tanks were heading their way.

"Looks like this isn't going to be as easy as we thought. The clankers are mobilizing everything they got left to try and stop us." Barney said aiming his Summoner's twin 120mm autocannons at one of the approaching GAT's. "It would appear that Gunray and Dark Star do not intend to surrender without a fight." Obi-Wan said from inside the Turbo Tank that was closely following the mech's.

"Well he is a coward. No doubt this is just to by time so he can escape with his tail between his legs." Gunner said unslinging the LRAC launcher he had and aimed at the weak side of one of the Hailfires heading towards them. "Rocket away." He said firing the launcher just ahead of the tank.

The rocket hit the wheeled droid tank and destroyed it. He reloaded the launcher and fired another rocket, this time his target was an AAT. He was about to fire his launcher when two gauss beams hit the droid tank destroying it before a second pair of gauss beams hit a spider droid followed by a single Hammer class rocket that latched onto the droid and after five seconds detonated taking the walker with it.

"Nice shooting Barney." Cassie complimented before firing four of her Catapults Javelins at four GAT's destroying the tanks before peppering another group with her pulse lasers.

"Those things may have a delay before detonating but they pack-a-punch." Barney chuckled before crushing a smaller spider droid before firing eight autocannon rounds towards one NR-N99s before the tank could even fire off any of its weapons. "Let's keep the pressure on. All units stay close to the mech's and leave the armor in front to us. Anything that gets through there all yours." Barney said towards the tank commanders.

Meanwhile back at the base, Erik was beaming with joy as he prepped his Z-95 for battle. To think that only a few hours ago, the girl he loved had agreed to marry him and to his surprise Master Unduli was happy for her former padawan as well and had already begun to discuss the wedding details with her old padawan.

"She may not be her biological daughter, but Luminara certainly sees Barriss as her daughter." Erik said as he checked that his ship had all the proton torpedoes were loaded. He was about to leave when he spotted Tarkin heading towards the communications center. Shrugging it off as nothing, he climbed into the cockpit and took off to join the liberation of the capital.

Back at the capital, Dark Star had finished prepping her own fighter, 'Vengeance' for departure. She had just finished checking her fighter's heavy missile launchers when her ships terminal beeped. She checked and found that their spy had found the blueprints of the Ymir and Ragnarok mechs. Grinning with delight, she transmitted the blueprints back to her master before she made her way to the throne room. She had sensed that her old friend and the earthborn were about to enter the palace and had to prepare for the upcoming battle.

While this was going on, Barriss had already begun to look through all the stores she knew of that sold wedding dresses on Coruscant. She already had the feeling that she would be wearing a dress for Erik someday soon, so prior to leaving for Shili she had picked out a beautiful dress for the event that senator Amidala was planning before Robert had ran after being accused of murder.

As she thought of dancing in the outfit she chose with Erik holding her tight, she felt a disturbance in the force. "Robert, Ahsoka. You two are about to face a tough challenge, but I know you both will prevail." She said to herself before drifting to sleep. She was still tired after helping to heal the injured troopers and civilians.

Back in the city, the droids swept street after street searching for the pilots of the two assault class mechs that sat silently in the city center, their cockpits closed tightly. "No sign of the pilots over here. They must have fled." One droid said after he finished checking the nearby alley. "Proceed to the next sector." Another droid ordered before that droid and the others left.

The last droid was about to leave when he heard something behind him. The droid turned around and same face to face with Robert. The droid was about to fire when Robert tossed his M4 into the hands of the droid.

The droid caught the rifle surprised and was then stabbed through the head with Roberts knife who then reclaimed his carbine. "Scraphead." Robert muttered before he ran back down the alley and rejoined Ahsoka, who was overlooking the royal palace.

"Master Skywalker and the others have just come under attack by the forces that were sent to intercept them." Ahsoka stated.

"They got the whole palace surrounded. Three platoons and no weapon emplacements. Must have thought their superior numbers would keep any resistance from even thinking about attacking the palace." Robert surmised loading up his carbines grenade launcher and handing it and the ammo bandolier to Ahsoka. "You know I don't know how to use a rifle." Ahsoka reminded him.

"I know, but one can learn things in the weirdest places. Aside from your sabers, it's good to have a ranged weapon. That's my motto ever since I learned how to use a saber." Robert stated to his friend. "I switched the selector to semi-…" Robert began but to his surprise Ahsoka switched the weapon to full-auto before slinging it over her shoulder. "Your aunt showed me the selector for a M4 when you ran away." She said.

"Oh. Well at least you know how to use it. Now, since Gunray's shuttle is scrap metal he won't be able to retreat. Three platoons are not a lot of guards. Must be more inside the palace." Robert said hiding his surprise. "So, what do we do?" Ahsoka asked aiming her rifle at one of the droids.

"We knock, loud." Robert said, detaching the BFG, configuring it to launcher mode charging up the weapon and fired. The ball of green plasma hit the lead platoon destroying them all with one blast, distracting the droids and allowing Ahsoka to fire the M4 downing the remaining platoons with a combination of rifle fire and grenade rounds.

The moment one-sided firefight ended, fifty-four droids were reduced to scrap and the palace was clear of all hostiles guarding the place. "Nice shooting. You'd give Annie Oakley a run for her money." Robert said impressively. "You can thank your aunt for teaching me about automatic rifles. Though I still have a bit more to learn." Ahsoka admitted loading a fresh magazine into the M4 as the two arrived at the palace doors.

"Well, we're going to be in close quarters. No grenade launcher or launcher mode. Rifle only, we don't want the royal family to sue us for any unnecessary damage to their home." Robert said before he raised his foot and kicked the door open. Scanning the entrance, he found no droids. "No hostiles so far, let's get moving." He said and the two sprinted into the palace as quick as they could.

They hadn't gotten very far when they ran into a patrol of droids. Before the droids opened fired, Robert and Ahsoka took cover behind one of the pillars on both sides, saving their hides from becoming swiss cheese. "Those bastards are dug in. I'll lay down covering fire while you move up to the next pillar. Get close enough and let them have it." Robert shouted before blind firing his BFG in rifle mode, downing a few droids and suppressing the droids.

"Roger that." Ahsoka responded and moved quickly to the next pillar, firing the rifle in short controlled four-round bursts downing four droids with 5.56mm full metal jacket ammo. The second she made it to the pillar, Robert sprinted to the pillar on the right side with Ahsoka covering his advance. The moment he arrived at the pillar, more droids came pouring down the steps from the upper levels of the palace further pinning the two force users down.

"Damn, there dug in more than I thought. Ahsoka, commence sword and shield maneuver." Robert said, attaching his weapon to his back and pulling out Revan's lightsaber activating its violet blade and began to block shot after shot away from his hand using the same reverse-grip style that Ahsoka favored.

Using this method, Robert created a barrier in front of them giving Ahsoka the chance to fire her rifle at the droids downing an entire squad with a full magazine before pushing back a dozen droids into the wall with a powerful surge of the force destroying them.

"We make a good team." Ahsoka said before loading a newer magazine into the rifle while Robert deactivated his ancestors' saber and putting his Morita into his hands. "Let's keep moving." Robert said calmly and determined but in his usual friendly demeanor.

Meanwhile, back on Earth in a prison in California a eighteen-year-old girl with messy black hair and wearing an orange prison jumpsuit looked to the stars and thought long and hard about a friend she hasn't seen in two years. "Robert, where ever you are I hope you are doing alright." The girl said silently before her cell was opened and she was placed into a straightjacket, being led away to solidarity confinement, after a fight broke out in the cafeteria. The moment she was thrown into her 'new' cell, the girl sighed. "I wish you were here. I need your help, my friend." She said before quickly falling asleep.

Back in the royal palace, Robert suddenly sneezed. "You ok?" Ahsoka asked.

"Yeah, I just feel like someone was talking about me." Robert said before firing his under-barrel shotgun eight times taking down four hidden Terror Troopers with two buckshot rounds each. "I still can't believe that these guys are clones." Robert said with disbelief.

"I still don't understand why the separatists would do such a thing." Ahsoka said in agreement gunning down another two Terror Troopers before they could stab her with their razor-sharp talons. "I don't even think Dooku knew about this. This isn't something he would condone." Ahsoka said before loading a fresh magazine into her weapon.

"If he didn't, then I think this was done without his approval. Let's not forget, a lot of the separatist leaders aren't too keen on ending the war with a peace treaty." Robert reminded her before the two cleared another floor of the palace and moved on to the third floor. "How many floors are there in this damn palace?" Robert asked before climbing another set of stairs.

"Four floors. We cleared two so we have two to go." Ahsoka said playfully. "Well that's just great." Robert said sarcastically, following his friend and downing another incoming squad of battle droid. This was going to take some work.

Back with the armor, Anakin fired his gauss cannons at an approaching MAF gunship, sending the craft crashing into the ground before picking off a squad of droid infantry with his mechs pulse lasers. After he fired a pair of crossbow missiles at an incoming dwarf spider droid, he felt a disturbance in the force. "Obi-Wan, Master Kota, did you sense that as well?" Anakin asked.

"I felt it too Skywalker. We need to press our assault and get to the palace immediately." Kota stated just as one of his Juggernauts was about to be destroyed by a squad of droids with demo charges that slipped past their defense's before he hacked them to pieces.

"Agreed, I have a feeling that this disturbance is Dark Star. Hopefully it isn't Maul or Savage." Obi-Wan said in agreement, hoping that Maul hadn't come to Shili in an attempt to kill him. They had no idea what they were about find out the true identity of Dark Star.

Roberts point of view

I felt like a sports coach trying to reach an evac station up thirty flights of stairs.

Ahsoka and I had cleared the third floor and were sweeping the forth floor of the palace. What we found on the third floor made us sick to our stomachs. Multiple bodies of other H'ranni M'Kai that had remained behind and hold off the advance droid invaders that had arrived on Shili were literally torn to pieces.

It wasn't a pretty sight. The bodies had been rotting for a good few days and had begun to smell worse than a really big piece of dog crap. It reminded me of what my grandpa's brother had seen at one of the concentration camps during World War 2.

Ahsoka, when she saw the carnage vomited for about half a minute. I could understand, nothing in the world can prepare you for seeing something so horrible and disgusting. "War is brutal, but this isn't war. Its murder." I said putting a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder, before grabbing a nearby table cloth and covered the bodies. "This is only temporary. We will give these men and women a proper burial when this is over." I added.

"Yeah, it's just I can't understand why someone would do this." Ahsoka said still horrified by what she had seen. "The only thing we can do is make sure these soldiers are avenged. This is a war crime." I said assuring her that this wouldn't happen again.

A promise I can't keep. These things happen whether you try to stop them or not.

As we cleared the floor, I couldn't help but admire Ahsoka's skills with a weapon other than a lightsaber. She caught on quick and could probably best a member of the SAS or JSOC soldier in a shooting contest. She could fire a weapon like a Desert Eagle and hit a target farther than its effective range.

She was someone I would love to have by my side in the field of battle. I had a bit of material left from building my armor and it came to me that she could use an armor similar to mine incase things went from bad to worse.

We checked another room and found that this one appeared to be Zaa's room, evidenced by the amount of elegant dresses and other clothing suited for a princess. "Jeez, with all these outfits Zaa could supply Hollywood with a lot of costumes for a sci-fi movie." I chucked before moving to the next room. I failed to notice looking a qipao like dress before she followed a few seconds later.

The moment we reached the next room we stacked up on the side. "You good?" I asked my friend.

"I'm fine, but the rifle's jammed." She stated showing me the M4. One of the spent casings had lodged itself in the ejection port. "Doesn't matter. This is the last room on this floor. Once we clear it, we'll be at the top." I said taking back the primary assault rifle of the U.S. armed forces and attached it to my back before I kicked the door open and almost wasted rounds for no reason.

"Fourth floor clear. Throne room is back below, we just cleared all the floors incase the droids had extra forces." Ahsoka explained. I was puzzled by why we had to sweep each floor, but I knew we had a reason.

The moment we returned to the ground floor and headed for the throne room, I finally cleared the jam of the M4 and was about to hand it to Ahsoka before the droids on the ground floor opened up on us with the double-barreled repeating blaster turrets they had setup guarding the entrance to the throne room. "TAKE COVER!" I shouted and pushed Ahsoka to the left as the droids fired their weapons.

"Thanks for the save." Ahsoka said.

"My pleasure." I responded before peaking out from behind our cover, another pillar. I stuck my head out a good five inches before a shot from a super battle droids wrist blaster hit my helmet. "Bastards must have set these up before hand or while we were going room to room. I should have seen this coming." I stated, handing Ahsoka the rifle back which she slung over her shoulder and unclipped her sabers from her belt.

"Sword and Shield round 2. I block you shoot." She stated. "Girl, I like you style. Let's get it on." I said before watching Ahsoka come out from behind the pillar and began to deflect each shot while I attached my Morita to my back and pulled out my BFG configuring it to rifle mode after checking the power supply. "Full pack." I said to myself before moving from behind the pillar and getting behind Ahsoka firing my hybrid weapon in short bursts sending green balls of plasma towards the droids firing in the old 'spray and pray' method.

My shots either hit the droids or missed them by an inch or two. But most of my shots destroyed our attackers. I extended my hand and grabbed one of the turrets with the force and sent it flying into the droids on the left knocking them down for good before grabbing the second turret and pulled it towards us, turning it around and fired the droid's own weapon at them.

"HOW DO YOU LIKE THE TASTE OF YOUR OWN FIREPOWER CLANKERS!" I shouted excitedly mowing them down until every single droid was downed. "You enjoyed that a little too much, didn't you?" Ahsoka asked. "I can't help it, I'm a victim of circumstance." I joked. (A/N guess that show)

We arrived at the door to the throne room and with a light kick pushed the door open and found Gunray himself sitting on the throne. "Hey numb nuts, get off that throne and put your hands in the air." I shouted.

Gunray turned around but had a smirk on his face. "You foul, you should surrender." The Nemiodian said before coming in from the left in her armor was Dark Star herself. I threw down my guns and knife, deactivated my armor and removed my helmet revealing my face to the viceroy and assassin.

"If you're expecting a fight then why don't you remove that helmet and show us your face." I said to Dark Star. When she removed her helmet, Ahsoka gasped with surprise. "Jana? Jana Starr?" Ahsoka said surprised.

"You know this bitch?" I asked in confusion.

"She used to be part of the same youngling clan I was." Ahsoka began before Jana interrupted her and pushed her back with a strong force push into the wall. "And I was far better than you ever were." She said holding Ahsoka.

"I was meant to be Skywalkers padawan, but you took that away from me. The council had already decided before he was even ready for a padawan, that's why I hired those Trandoshan's to attack our ship, so you would be killed and I would achieve my destiny. Sadly, they tried to kill me so I had to kill them. Thankfully, I caught the attention of Dooku's master and he trained me in the ways of the dark side." Jana said.

"Who do you think killed Mina Bonteri, I killed the traitor." Jana bragged.

This got me angry, like Hulk angry. "You killed her, she was trying to end the war through negotiations. More people are going to die because of this." I stated. "That's the idea." Jana stated. "YOU MURDERING BITCH! SHE DIDN'T HAVE TO DIE! SHE WANTED PEACE! WHAT DO YOU GET OUT OF THIS!" I shouted tears following from my eyes in sadness.

"You're asking the wrong questions. I have much to gain and can't afford to lose. The Jedi will lose this war and, in the ashes, I will become the padawan of Skywalker, once he is turned to the Dark Side that is." Jana proclaimed turning towards Ahsoka and activating her own saber. "But first, I will enslave the one who stole my place and kill the Lone Wolf." She said pulling Ahsoka towards her to the ground and prepared to bring her sabers down on my friend.

Unfortunately for Jana, I dashed quickly and blocked her strike with my own sabers giving Ahsoka the chance to recover her strength and giving me the opening to push Jana back with a powerful push of my own.

"No one harms my friends. Those who strike down those calling for peace are monsters. It ends here Jana. One shall stand. One shall fall, traitor. THIS IS FOR MINA!" I shouted, assuming a fighting stance as Ahsoka got up beside me. "We'll take her together." She said. "Sounds good to me."

Normal point of view

As the battle in the palace was about to begin, the rest of the republic forces arrived at the city and began to fight their way towards the palace. "Rex, Cassie. Take a few platoons and clear the western part of the city. Obi-Wan, Rahm take the east. Barney and I will go right for the palace." Anakin said worried for his padawan.

"Don't worry Anakin, Ahsoka will be alright. After all she is your padawan." Obi-Wan reminded him. "I know master. It's just that I have a really bad feeling about this." Anakin said as he and Barney gunned their mechs towards the palace.

(The Touch begins)

Each of them waited for the other too make the first move. The first strike meant the attacker would lower their guard and focus on offense.

Fortunately for Ahsoka and Robert, Jana moved first. Lunging towards them at tremendous speed, she attacked Ahsoka with a wild Form I attack but was countered with a Form I block by Robert who then pushed the former Jedi back across the throne rooms floor.

Using her sabers to slow her down, Jana growled with anger. "You think you can come after my friends and get away with it? Well you have another thing coming and a few punches and kicks to boot." Robert proclaimed before attacking with a dual Form V uppercut slash giving Ahsoka the chance to attack with a Shien attack of her own which Jana avoided.

"I always was the better fighter. Face it Ahsoka, you're not worthy of being Skywalker's padawan." Jana spat before unleashing a wild Juyo strike on the Togruta. Ahsoka cartwheeled out of the way and blocked another Juyo strike, this one however knocked her shoto out of her hands which Jana caught. "Fitting that you will be killed by your own weapon." Jana snickered before lunging with a double Juyo strike forcing Ahsoka on the defensive.

"Ahsoka heads up." Robert shouted before jumping into the air, unclipped Revans saber from his waist and with a powerful sidekick sent it to his friend who caught it and activated it. "Now it's a fair fight Jana." Ahsoka snapped before implementing the Twin Strike used by other Jedi that wielded two blades and collided with Jana's own blade while Robert did the same thing colliding with her stolen blade.

"You two disappoint me. I heard that you two were the best, but it looks like you two are second rate." Jana growled pushing both Jedi back into the wall. Ahsoka hit the wall hard and both her sabers fell out of her hands. Robert hit the wall as well but quickly recovered.

Jana slowly walked over to Ahsoka and was about to deliver the killing blow. For a second it seemed that Jana had forgotten that she intended to make Ahsoka her slave and wanted her dead. But as she delivered the strike, her saber was blocked by Roberts blue blade which she knocked aside and sliced his left arm clean off at the wrist.

"You don't know when to quit do you kid." Jana said annoyed before she levitated Robert with the Force and was about to pull him towards her when Ahsoka came back to her feet. "LEAVE THE BOY I LOVE ALONE!" She roared and began to channel her own force energy into her sabers.

"THIS HAND OF MINE SHINES AND ROARS ITS BRIGHT CRY TELLS ME TO DEFEAT YOU!" She shouted forcing Jana to throw Robert into one of the pillars, before channeling her own force energy into her saber. "TAKE THIS SHINNING/DARKNESS FINGER!" The two combatants shouted and their blades collided.

Unfortunately, Jana overpowered Ahsoka and pushed her back to the wall again. "I think I have the perfect outfit for you Ahsoka. Or better yet, I will have you naked all the time when you're my slave. That will be perfect to…" Jana began before she looked towards Robert.

"YOU LEAVE HER ALONE!" Robert roared, but not in the power of darkness but of light. "This hand of mine is burning red. Its loud roar tells me to grasp victory." He proclaimed before calling his ancestors saber to him and ignited it, this time in beam saber pink. He then lunged forward. "ERUPTING BURNING FINGER!" he shouted before delivering a powerful Form I upper slash towards Jana, the tip of his blade scarring her face. "AND NOW THE END!" he roared before a powerful blast wave blew Jana away from the two.

(Song End)

Jana was about to attack again, but Republic forces had just entered the throne room and began to fire at her. "We'll finish this later bitch." Jana said to Ahsoka before jumping through the window behind the throne into her fighter and flew away.

As the troops arrested Gunray, Robert fell to the ground with a thud. "MEDICS!" Ahsoka shouted, fearing for the life of the man she loved.

The Battle of Shili was over, but it appeared the Lone Wolf had suffered greatly.

And that concludes the battle of Shili arc.

Erupting Burning Finger, like Shining Finger is based off the ability used by Domon Kasshu from G Gundam and like my Shining Finger acts the same way as Force Fury.

So, Robert lost a hand, the seppies have the blueprints for the Ymir and Ragnarok mechs, Gunray has been arrested and Ahsoka stated that she loves Robert. How will she get through this, what will happen with Erik and Barriss in regards to their upcoming wedding and does Robert have the same feelings towards Ahsoka? Find out in the next chapter of the Long Road.

Also, Jana Star is a character used by several authors like Superherotimefan and Norik956, she is not created by me.

Also, my poll is still up so please, even if you haven't seen any of the Gundam Series please cast your votes. Remember to read and review and I will see you all next time.