Ahsoka awoke with a start. The interior of the Twilight was foreign as the foggy mental images of Raa'ma and A'sha faded from her mind. Finally able to absorb her surroundings, she realized the ship had landed and Sinda was nowhere in sight. Unfastening the harness and jumping to her feet, she darted to R2 and switched him back on, who resumed the protesting trills and rocking that had been previously cut-off by Sinda.
"Easy, Artoo," she soothed, coaxing the droid to settle as she peered out the cockpit to get her bearings. "I guess Sinda already went inside. Stay with the ship and keep it on standby in case we have to make a quick escape."
Despite the concerned warbles that followed, she lowered the ramp and descended. Dense clouds blanketed the planet, giving the atmosphere an eerie sense of nightfall, despite being the middle of the day. The air buzzed with energy she could feel in her montrals, as though an electrical storm was brewing above the cloud cover. Ahead lay a simple curved duracrete structure with a door which, she presumed, led to a subterranean bunker. With her senses open and sabers in hand, she jogged through the door and into the darkness.
The door opened on command, revealing a long, grated staircase that vanished into darkness. Immediately, a wave of pain and anger rushed from the confined space, as though the door alone sealed the secrets away. Tension built in her gut as she entered, feet light and silent as she cautiously descended. Every step of the way, her eyes adjusted to the absence of light until she was able to see with aid of the dim orange safety lights that still worked along the stairwell.
Upon reaching the bottom, the musty air tainted with the metallic taste of stale blood overwhelmed her senses for a moment. Unclipping her sabers from her belt, she slowly advanced. The corridor was claustrophobically narrow, not even wide enough for her to raise her arms from her sides when she wasn't standing at the entryway to a small cell. More orange lights glowed in the ceiling at evenly spaced intervals, though the illumination was clouded by the haze of uncirculated air. As she moved deeper into the bunker, the smell of death became more pronounced, as were the echoing cries of pain and fear she sensed through the Force.
"I am here," Sinda quietly called in a somber voice.
Picking up the pace, Ahsoka followed her voice to an open cell toward the end of the corridor. Upon rounding the doorway, a cold chill settled across her exposed shoulders and tingled down her spine, compelling her to stop in her tracks. The inky darkness that surrounded her called to mind the nightmare of her fall to the dark side, one that felt more real than a mere dream, but an experience she couldn't fully recall. At first she assumed Sinda was the source, however as she entered and stood at her side, she came to realize the charged emotions were the lingering remains of the tortured youngling that previously occupied the cell.
"What happened here?"
The answer came without hesitation, "Master Krell trained the padawans."
"This wasn't training, this was torture," Ahsoka rebuked, crouching to trace her fingertips along the deep gouges in the stone floor. "What do you think happened to them?"
Sinda answered with a grave look that conveyed a deep, knowing pain rather than words before changing the subject, "I sense a presence deeper in the bunker. Return to the ship and keep it on standby."
"No way!" Ahsoka insisted, jumping to her feet. "You're going to need help."
Suppressing a sigh, Sinda contemplated her options. She knew she could compel the padawan to go if she truly wanted to, however her protests were valid. Deep down, she knew exactly who was waiting for them and why the surviving youngling was recently moved there from the cell, but she wasn't yet ready to admit her suspicions aloud. Rather than waste time in an argument, she opted to strike a deal.
"Very well, but if I tell you to go, you go and do not wait for me. Understood?"
"Understood."
Undeterred by the knot cinching ever tighter in her gut, Sinda called the lift only to have the doors open immediately, "They know we are here."
"Let's not keep them waiting then," Ahsoka replied, entering the carriage with a confidence that could only come from Anakin's teaching.
Despite the certainty it was a trap, one where the lift was likely their only means of escape, she boarded all the same. The doors closed and with a sharp jerk and grind, the carriage descended. A short ride later, the doors opened and a rush of acrid, burned ozone met them. Sinda's face pulled at the metallic taste it left on her tongue. Every hair on the back of her neck stood on end as she stepped from the lift, Ahsoka at her side. Their only path forward was to the end of a short corridor that opened into a large laboratory, where she only sensed darkness.
The room was bathed in the eerie blue glow of three bacta chambers at the back of the room. Two were occupied by the lifeless bodies of the padawans they had been sent to find, a human female and a Nautolan male. Despite ineffectiveness of the treatment, the tanks hummed and bubbled all the same, cycling the hazy liquid mixed with bodily fluids, preserving the bodies rather than restoring life. Disturbing as the sight was, it was the presence of the only survivor, facing away from them at the base of the tanks that was most unsettling. Sinda unclipped her sabers as her head tilted to the side in observation.
Based on the data supplied by the Council, the survivor was Aller Greev, a human male who was already quite adept in the Force and poised to become a great Jedi with the proper guidance. He remained indifferent to their presence, kneeling with hands resting on his thighs as though he was deep in meditation. Her eyes drifted around the room, examining the darkened rafters and corners. At the far end of the room, her gaze settled on the thick shadows, staring deeply at the presence she felt but couldn't see. When Ahsoka moved to approach, Sinda extended an arm to block her path.
"He needs help," she hissed in protest.
"Who do you think killed the other two and put their bodies in the tanks, hmm?" Sinda replied.
"No, that's…a Jedi wouldn't do that." Sidestepping her obstructed path, Ahsoka walked to the youngling all the same and crouched next to him. "We're here to help you. What's your name?"
"Aller…Aller Greev."
"Aller, can you tell me what happened?" she rested a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"He said I would do great things if I obeyed," he muttered. "He promised I would make a fine apprentice."
"Who promised?"
As Ahsoka tried to glean details from the boy, Sinda flanked them, circling with the room with a wide berth toward the bacta tanks. Her keen eyes stayed on the Aller with every deliberate step. She knew to trust her hunter's instinct. A wounded animal was far more dangerous than an angry one and there was no mistaking the deep trauma the boy had been subjected to. The question that remained was whether or not he could be saved.
"I only have one last test before he'll accept me," a giggle escaped Aller's dry throat.
"Before who accepts you?" Ahsoka asked. "Master Krell?"
"No," the giggle gave way to quiet laughter, his dirt-caked hands gripping the filthy, thread-bare fabric of his trousers. "Master Krell said I was his gift. Master Krell taught me everything I needed to know in order to be ready for him."
Sinda reached the bacta chambers and studied the occupants' wounds, scrutinizing each exposed burn. Some were well healed and scarred, others more fresh, suggesting the padawans were subjected to injury multiple times over an extended period. The raised, proud nature of the scars were a telltale sign of accelerated healing by bacta exposure. As she studied them, the angle and direction of the wounds were a damning clue. Rather than coming from extreme angles, as they would from someone as tall as Master Krell, the pattern was consistent with their opponent being closer to their own height. It was the confirmation she needed to proceed.
Turning her focus back to the pair in the middle of the room, Sinda watched Aller for a moment before speaking, "Master Krell makes many promises he never keeps. His words are lies, you should not believe them."
His head snapped at her comment, revealing bloodshot eyes, irises tinged with yellow and red, "He told me all about you. He called you his greatest failure. That you being made a Jedi was proof the Council was weak and corrupt. You are an apostate."
"If submitting fully to Krell's teaching would have made me a success in his eyes, I am happy to be a failure," she glanced back at the tanks, hoping to provoke a reaction from the unstable boy. "He couldn't break me so he learned to prey on the weak-minded, like you."
With a snarl, Aller launched toward her with surprising speed and power. His saber ignited, the once pure green blade was stained red from the bleeding crystal within its core. Sinda easily repelled him with a Force push, sending him skidding back to the middle of the room. Rather than engage her again, he turned to Ahsoka, who was ready and easily parried his attacks. It would have been easy to overwhelm the boy with their combined skill and experience, however neither Ahsoka nor Sinda wanted to kill him. Instead, the latter reached out with the Force in an attempt to calm his frantic mind, perhaps even help him turn back to the light before it was too late.
His attack faltered just enough for Sinda to pull the saber from his hand and Ahsoka to break his stance. With a kick to his chest, Aller fell and landed hard on his back, his head bouncing off the stone floor before his body went limp. Crouching over him, Sinda rested a hand against his forehead and carefully entered his tangled mind. The pained, fearful, and angry thoughts that saturated his psyche lashed out at her intrusion, but she pushed on with little resistance, searching for some sign that there was still good within him. After several moments of searching, she found a small flickering voice, crying out in remorse over and over.
Retreating from his mind, she stood and inhaled deeply, "Part of him is still in there, but it is buried deep. We will take him to the Temple. Perhaps with time and guidance he will find his way back."
"Master Krell really did this to him?"
"To all of them," Sinda corrected, unable to shake that cold prickle that kept across her shoulders knowing they were being watched.
"What about the others? We can't leave them here," Ahsoka asked, but Sinda barely heard her.
"I want you to go back to the ship and contact Coruscant. I will stay and gather the bodies," she instructed quietly, trying not to alarm her companion.
"What about him? I don't want to leave you alone."
"Ahsoka, do as I say. Now," she harshly commanded.
Confusion flashed through her eyes at the urgency, but reluctantly she turned to do as instructed. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning ripped through her body from a darkened corner of the room. With a choked, garbled cry, she fell. Sinda spun around, sabers igniting just in time to block another bolt. The energy buzzed through the Druskin casing and into her hands, setting her nerves alight. After a moment, it ceased, leaving an eerie silence behind.
"Show yourself, Dooku!" She demanded, rotating her wrists and moving into a low, defensive stance between the fallen Ahsoka and her opponent.
An amused chuckle rippled from the darkness as he came into view, imposing in his presence as much as his physical stature. Behind her, she heard muffled groans as Ahsoka and Aller regained consciousness. The former was immediately on her feet, though she swayed slightly while the latter dropped to his knees.
"Master, please let me prove myself. Master Krell trained me well. I will kill them and prove my worth."
Another amused chuckle, "I see the Jedi still teach blind obedience from the beginning. Pity you so foolishly trusted them."
Raising his empty hand, Dooku effortlessly lifted Aller from the floor, choking him with the Force briefly before pulling the boy toward him. Sinda reached to grab him, a vain attempt to stop what she knew was coming, but fibers of his tunic only slipped through her fingers as he flew past her. The red, angry light of his saber punctuated the youngling's doomed fate. It happened in a second, barely enough time for Aller to register what was happening, but that didn't stop the sudden rush of fear and chaos from running through his mind as a single swipe of the blade ended his life.
"Ahsoka, run," Sinda commanded, shaking away the haunting sound of Aller's last thoughts from her mind.
Rather than comply, Ahsoka ignited her sabers and also took a defensive stance, "We can end the war today if we capture Dooku. You need my help"
"Skywalker has taught you arrogance. It will be your downfall," he warned.
Before Ahsoka could charge, Sinda leapt forward to engage, only to find herself suddenly surrounded by three MagnaGuard that dropped from the darkened rafters. Their electrostaffs buzzed like a swarm of bees as they wasted no time attacking. Both Jedi countered and moved to try to break the trio's combined assault. Two focused on Sinda while the other steadily worked Ahsoka toward a corner to pin her down. Despite her stature, the Togruta padawan held her own against the much larger opponent.
After a series of aggressive blows and acrobatic moves, Sinda found an opening and finally struck down one droid. Both sabers slashed through the metal chassis with ease, leaving it in pieces on the stone floor. The other droid swung its staff as she raised her guard. Although she managed to block the blow aimed for her chest, it took all the strength in her body to hold back the crackling purple electrode that steadily moved closer and closer to her toward her face. In the background, she saw Ahsoka fall to a knee, sabers crossed overhead as she too struggled to fight off her opponent.
Sinda's gaze returned to the blank, emotionless mechanical face of the MagnaGuard. Tendrils of electricity licked at her cheek, sharp and jagged, setting her nerves ablaze. Memories of the assault before her Jedi Trial flooded back with a potency never experienced before. All at once the pain and betrayal that gripped her existence seized her heart and mind. In the blink of an eye, something inside her snapped.
Unleashing a snarling shout, she shifted her feet and lunged. The pale blue of her sabers traveled up the length of the electrostaff, sparking and crackling as both blades turned and buried to the hilt in the MagnaGuard's chest. Thrusting her arms apart, the droid split in two as it fell, glowing eyes flickering briefly before going dark. Rage burned in her chest as she set her sights on the last droid, who kicked Ahsoka in the chest and raised its staff to land a fatal blow. Rather than charge, she raised a hand and reached out with the Force.
The staff trembled in its hands and fell, clattering to the floor. Fighting through her attempt to seize control, the droid's servos whined and strained as it turned toward her. It managed to take two stalking, heavy steps, but the wrath with which she wielded the Force was stronger. Through the adrenaline-fueled quake of her hand, her fingers curled like gnarled tree branches, stopping the MagnaGuard in its tracks. Polished durasteel groaned and sparks erupted from the joints of the chassis as the droid dented and crumpled under the invisible weight of the Force.
Only when the eyes flickered out did she release the droid, which landed with a thick, hollow, metallic thud. She breathed deeply through her nose, feeling stronger than ever before. Power hummed in her veins, power that she hadn't felt before, power that felt good. Ahsoka gathered herself and ran to her side.
"I told you to run," Sinda gritted through clenched molars, holding her focused gaze on Dooku.
"You need my help," she argued, still unwilling to back down from the fight.
"And you need to learn to listen!" She barked, her former master's very words unconsciously tumbling from her mouth.
Without hesitation, she Force pushed Ahsoka away with startling intensity and thrust her down the short hallway, and into the open carriage of the lift. No sooner had her body landed against the wall and dropped to the durasteel floor than the doors closed and the lift rose. Once they were alone, Sinda refocused her mind, taking a ready, but casual stance after rolling her neck to release the tension building in her muscle and bone.
"Fascinating that you refuse assistance," he mused, rotating his saber to hold it behind his back. "Do you truly believe she will obey?"
"She won't have a choice," she replied firmly.
"I sense the darkness in you. Seeds planted by your master that you have denied, yet they continue to grow, nevertheless. It's a pity the Council didn't see fit to assign you to me. I would have taught you well. Certainly better than Pong Krell. Kneel and join me. I will show you how to unlock your true potential."
"You betrayed the Jedi and everything they stand for," she countered. "This war was your doing. Even if I was your padawan then, I would not have followed you."
"My former padawan, Qui-Gon Jinn spoke of you often. He said you had great talent in you, but also great conflict. Balance eluded you, even as a youngling."
Invoking Qui-Gon's name was a ploy to provoke her to attack and, although she resisted, the tingle of action in her fingertips refused to abate. Anger flared, propelling her forward. Dooku chuckled as she attacked with increased aggression, but was out of balance as she did so. She wielded her blades with raw power, refined by years of experience but sloppy from the torrent of unchecked emotions running wild with her mind.
"I see you have been studying your forms. Juyo serves you well," he mused as he easily countered her strikes, not retaliating to attack, but seeming to evaluate her abilities. "Dig deeper into your anger and you'll find more power than you know. There is much I will teach you, once you kneel to me."
The certainty with which he spoke gave her pause. A vision that plagued her at times resurfaced in her mind's eye, cutting through the haze of anger. Disturbing memories of watching from outside her body as she kneeled at a Sith Lord's feet, wearing a black armored uniform with red piping trim, as she accepted a double-edged saber with crimson blades. Watching helpless as her village was consumed in flames, the screams of the dying echoed through the roaring blaze. A cold chill settled into her bones at the possibility of having fallen into that fate.
"There is much fear in you," Dooku delightfully rumbled, reaching out to her psyche with the Force. "Fear of loss and pain. Fear makes you powerful once you wield it against your enemies."
Sinda resisted the intrusion of his mind in hers, "Fear does not control me."
"We shall see."
All at once, she couldn't breathe, as though an invisible hand closed around her throat, cutting off her air supply. Her sabers fell from her hands as she choked and gurgled. Dooku raised his hand, fingers curled and lifted her feet from the floor. He held her aloft as she fruitlessly thrashed to free herself. Darkness seeped into her vision as she began to drift out of consciousness. In the final moments before losing the battle to stay awake, she saw the corners of Dooku's mouth curl upward.
Upon reaching the surface, Ahsoka sprinted from the bunker but reeled back at the sight of the platoon of battle droids standing between her and the Twilight. Opening her comm, she shouted for Artoo to get the ship ready. The droids opened fire, which she deflected with ease, taking out droid after droid with both her blades and aimed richotched shots. As the B1 droids fell in their attempted advance, B2s and several Droidekas moved forward. Under the sheer volume of blaster fire from the advancing enemies, Ahsoka was pinned into the entry to the bunker.
That was, until the Twilight's engines engaged. The rotating cannon swiveled around and aided in clearing the landing pad. Under the heavier firepower, the Separatist forces didn't stand a chance. Seizing the opportunity, Ahsoka took the offensive and carved a path through the remaining droids. As she neared the ship, the ramp lowered and, no sooner were her boots on the deck, than the ship lifted off and escaped.
"Thanks Artoo," she panted as she sat in the captain's seat. "Open a channel to the Council. We need reinforcements to capture Count Dooku."
The droid, who was plugged in at the rear of the cockpit, warbled rapidly.
"What do you mean there's already a programmed course back to Coruscant? We can't leave!" Ahsoka attempted unsuccessfully to divert from the pre-programmed flight path. "Artoo, get me control of the ship! We can't leave!"
The droid rocked back at the scoop-port, chattering with agitation as it worked to override the flight path. Despite the effort, before manual override could be returned, the hyperdrive powered up with a crescendoing hum of the engines. Ahsoka shouted in frustration as the stars streaked. She was thrust back into her seat, having no choice but to accept that they were returning to Coruscant without Sinda.
It was late, much later than Fives had planned on returning to the barracks, but by the time he realized curfew had already passed, he supposed a few more hours weren't going to make a difference in the end. A smug grin crept across his face as he slipped a few credits to the trooper keeping the arrival log in the wee hours of the morning to ensure his return wasn't recorded. Staying between Citta's thighs was definitely a more favorable place than the creaky bunk and thin mattress that awaited him. He could still taste her on his tongue. Sunshine was his favorite flavor. Standing at the door to the 501st's barracks, he glanced over his shoulder one last time before entering, only to have his gut drop to his feet.
Rex stood on the other side, consuming the entry with his stern gaze, "We need to talk."
It was a tone he knew better than to try to argue, despite the volume being low. So in lieu of protesting with the intention of deferring the conversation until it never happened, he nodded. Rex strode down the corridor, helmet tucked underarm as he followed. The walk was short, just around the corner to one of the small, but private, officer's quarters that was available on rotation to the captains and commanders of the Grand Army when they were planetside. Entering the code, Rex set his bucket on the small desk built into the corner before taking a seat on the durasteel stool, which was bolted to the floor. As the door closed, he gestured to Fives to sit on the vacant bunk.
"I'm sure you understand the risk you're taking," Rex began, knowing better than to fuss with pretext. "But does she?"
"'She' who, exactly?" Rather than give himself up, he instead chose to gamble on a bluff.
"Fives…" he pinched the bridge of his nose, far too tired for games. "I know you're carrying on an affair with General Eleri. I ignored the harmless flirting, even the fraternization on shore leave. You're both capable of making your own decisions, but staying out past curfew when you're on duty rotation is going to have to be accounted for if you're caught by the wrong person."
"The wrong person being you?"
"I can only turn a blind eye for so long. This can't keep happening or I will have to report you. I need you to think with your brain, not your dick."
Fives blinked, taken aback by the threat, "That's pretty rich coming from you."
"Excuse me?"
"You carried on an affair with General Perth with zero consequences."
"Zero consequences? We were almost caught. If she hadn't left the Order, I would have faced formal reprimand, probable reconditioning. Cody caught wind of the rumor and pulled me aside. We had a very similar conversation to the one you and I are having right now. He told me to end it. You're being incredibly reckless just to fucking around."
"I'm not just-" he started defensively, but held his tongue for a moment, eyes dropping to his boots. "I think I'm in love with her."
Rex's eyes widened for a moment as he ran a gloved hand back and forth across his buzzed hair, "Does she feel the same?"
"No, at least…I don't know. She's been evasive whenever I try to talk about the future," he paused, rolling his tongue against the inside of his cheek. "How did you get General Perth to leave to order for you?"
"What makes you think Sinda left the Order for me?"
"That's what scuttlebutt says. You two met, got attached, and she left to avoid the conflict with her commitment to the Jedi."
A tired sigh rose and fell in his chest, "She didn't leave the order for me, Fives. Yes, we were having an affair and bonded just before she returned home, but I didn't even know she was planning to leave the order until after it had happened. She told me after speaking to the Council. Any influence I had on her decision was tertiary at best. Becoming a Jedi is a lifelong commitment. Expecting someone to leave for the sake of love, especially when we're at war and expendable in the eyes of the Republic. Would you really want to have to convince her to walk away from the only life she's ever known?"
Although Fives the answer, his defiant heart refused to give up, "You can't compel me to stop seeing her."
"I know that, and I'm not telling you to. I just need you to be smarter than you've been. No more sneaking her into the base after hours, no more staying out when you aren't on shore leave. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," he reluctantly grumbled.
"Good, now get some sleep. You're on duty at oh-six hundred."
Fives stood but paused at the door, "If she hadn't left the Order…would you have ended it? With General Perth, I mean."
"Yes, I would have," he answered without hesitation. "I would have hated to do it, but if the Jedi was where her heart belonged, there would have been no other way."
With another reluctant nod of understanding, Fives departed the cabin, even though he knew sleep would elude him for the rest of the night. Likewise, Rex wearily looked around his quarters. Despite the physical exhaustion that seeped into his bones as he began shucking his armor, his mind still spun with the cryptic conversation with General Riva that started his day. He'd chewed on her advice to be cautious regarding his relationship around General Skywalker. He couldn't help but wonder how the apparent animosity between the two Jedi could have anything to do with him, or when it even started.
And, perhaps more importantly, if it had indeed started, when did it end?
Laying on his bunk after turning out the light, he released a deep breath in an attempt to clear his mind enough to sleep. Without fail, the utter exhaustion of his demanding life took control. It didn't take long for his limbs to feel heavy and eyes to droop. Not even the worries that percolated in his mind could keep him awake. His body twitched several times, and, just as he began to drift away into the abyss of slumber, his comm chimed on the desk. Despite the annoyance of being summoned back to duty, he obediently rose and retrieved the device.
"Captain Rex," he could help the tired grumble in his voice.
"Rex, it's Ahsoka. I've tried to reach Anakin, but his comm is turned off," her voice was urgent.
His stomach clenched as adrenaline flooded his body, snapping him back to a state of alertness "What happened?"
She replied with a regretful sigh and paused.
"Ahsoka…" his voice was calm but stern. "What happened? Where's Sinda right now?"
"Rex…I'm so sorry."