Chapter 109: The Ones We Leave Behind
It had been months. Months and months traveling from bar to bar in a drunken haze, sobering up only just long enough to do jobs to earn more drinking money. Every bar was invariably tuned into the holonet, and every report had to do with the war, with Kenobi, with his fallen Jedi commanders. Ventress had been kicked out of more bars than she could count for destroying their holonet projectors in a blind fury. It hurt too much to look at him, even now, and the more she tried to forget, the more she missed him. When Dooku had died, she felt something she hadn't felt in a long, long time. Hope. With him dead, the prospects of the Separatists seemed bleak, even though they seemed to be doing remarkably well for having suffered such a devastating loss. It wasn't the loss of their forces that was causing the upheaval, it was the loss of Count Dooku, the rallying voice behind the Separatist movement. It appeared as though Obi-Wan was doing a fine job leading what was left and creating replacements for what had been destroyed, but the momentum was lost. It was ending, and then the Sith would have nowhere to go.
If ever there was a chance to reach out to Quinlan, it was now. She very well may be killed, but what else was there for her? She had to try one last time. Months had passed, and she knew the Dark Side well enough to know that anger didn't fade so easily from the Sith, that revenge unsated sat and gnawed at a person, but Quinlan had always been strong. She had to try again. Finding him would be difficult, but she could do it.
And if he was lost, if he was focused on revenge, fixated on killing her like he had been on Serenno, he would find her.
She would bring nobody with her this time. No Jedi to interfere, no people to lose, nobody to die on her behalf. Just her. Kenobi may have been right. She could never escape the Dark Side, but maybe together, she and Quinlan could. So she left in the Banshee, leaving behind a desolate, empty life in the hope of being together with her lover once again, and if not that, at least death would be swift. It was better than wasting away in cantinas. Her careful search had taken her across the galaxy, and for a man so present in the war, such a force for chaos and destruction, Quinlan Vos was remarkably difficult to find. When she knew he was somewhere, had reports of his whereabouts, no matter how close she was, when she got there, he was gone. Hunting a hunter was proving to be a futile endeavor, and there were few hunters as good as Quinlan Vos. She could have searched for him through Kenobi, but that prospect was far more dangerous. Obi-Wan wanted her dead as well, and were the two brothers in arms to be found together, it was unlikely that Kenobi would do anything but push Vos to kill her, to complete his revenge, to, at last, fully embrace the Dark Side with the death of his old self. It didn't help that for how present Vos had been in the war the past few months, Kenobi was just as absent.
Then came the massacre on Stewjon, a pointless, senseless slaughter that was said to be the work of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Separatist leader striking the innocent of the galaxy as a warning to the Republic, a reminder of what resistance and continued fighting would bring. It rang false to Ventress immediately. Kenobi was a killer, yes, but not usually a senseless one. She had once given him a hard time about his distaste for killing, for his reluctance to murder Jedi, and it was only after she had left the Dark Side that she realized how bloodthirsty she had been. She never knew Kenobi to be like that. Even when Ord Mantell had burned, there was purpose and meaning. The criminals that killed his lover, a woman that Ventress remembered as being cold, aloof, and something of a bitch, but one that Ventress respected, resided on the planet. He descended for revenge, and the planet burned to make a point and to spread fear to those that oppose him. The massacre of her people on Dathomir served a purpose. She hated it, but she had recognized why. But this, a small village on a small planet that nobody cared about, so small it had no representation in the Senate...this was senseless.
Something was wrong. It didn't seem big enough for the grand aspirations of Kenobi's insanity, nor did it seem like something he would have done when in his right mind. Regardless, it was the first trace of Kenobi that she had heard about in months, and it was worth following up on. She set her navicomputer for Stewjon. Perhaps the trail she followed would lead her to Quinlan.
She wasn't bored, not exactly, but Ahsoka knew a waste of time when she saw one. There wasn't anyone to help in the village on Stewjon, because everyone was dead, and had been dead for over a month by the time she got there. Still, Republic relief efforts to the small, previously ignored planet had been substantial, and on more than one occasion, she had seen a Jedi Knight walking around. They were, apparently, investigating. So were the Mandalorians, but she found their inquaries just as pointless. Yes, what had happened here was awful. Dreadfully so, but this was war, and targeting the innocent was par for the course for the Separatists. And kriffing hell, a Sith Lord led them, and burning planets and slaughtering villages was sort of what they did. It wasn't like the Republic needed any more reason to hate Obi-Wan, though she supposed that she understood why the Mandalorians were here. Their Shadow King was responsible for something they didn't approve of. No wonder they were searching for a way to absolve him.
She walked around the town, mostly to look for valuables and possessions that hadn't yet been gathered by the relief efforts to bring to the nearby township, but she also kept an eye on the walls, on the floors, on the ceilings within the homes. There was carbon scoring and holes in places from blaster fire, bolts that missed or were deflected, though most of that had been scrubbed away. The intention was to make the town hospitable again, though none of the locals wanted to go anywhere near the place, which was understandable. But more disturbing and far more difficult to fix were the long scars in wood and metal left by a lightsaber. She stopped inside one home that was particularly bad, stepped inside, and felt the cold immediately. The Dark Side was strong here, even after all the time that had passed. Ahsoka shivered as she stepped inside, slowly walking around the humble home and looking at the furnishings that had been slashed, the deep, furious, crossing burns that marred the walls and the ground. It was different here. The other homes had similar markings, yes, but far less. These were...random. Wild. Furious. Hateful.
She didn't want to be here longer than necessary. Nor did anyone else, it seemed, because she found several things that had been left behind. Valuables and clothing and a blaster that had been discharged twice, among other things that she quickly stuffed into her pack, and she left in all haste. She didn't like how it made her feel to be in there, She felt...angry. A deep pull of darkness within her that spread like poison in her veins, and it made her shake and crave revenge. Revenge for who? It was completely irrational, a calling to the Dark Side that she recognized, and therefore could deny.
Ahsoka wanted out of the village. She'd deliver what she found to Bail Organa, report her findings about the creepy house to Bo-Katan, and she'd be gone to someplace new. Like Kashyyyk, which was suffering badly, or Muunilinst, which had been under siege for months. She'd be fighting there, like she'd been fighting in many places since her work with the relief efforts began. Having a Jedi trained attache had been a huge benefit and had expanded their relief options, especially when dealing with one as skilled as Ahsoka was. Bail Organa had been especially grateful. He didn't have the warriors that Bo-Katan had at her disposal, and while he did often cooperate with the Mandalorians, there was nothing like having a freelancer to call upon.
She was just about to leave the ghost town for the relief camps nearby when she spotted movement out of the corner of her eye, swift and athletic and so, so familiar, a sight that she had seen a thousand times before. Without thinking, she followed, her hands tightly gripping the straps of her pack as she ran down the narrow streets, looking in through each door as she passed them, and she skid to a stop when she found him. Kneeling in one of the houses, his hand splayed upon the ground and eyes closed in concentration, was Quinlan Vos. She dropped her pack at the door as she called to him, the Kiffar could not turn quick enough to keep himself from being knocked to the ground by Ahsoka's tackling hug.
"What are you doing out here?" the Kiffar asked, laughing and groaning as he sat up, and he couldn't help grinning at his former student. "Kenobi said you're working for the relief efforts, there's not exactly much for you to do out here."
"I know," she said, deadpan. "I said that too, but, you know...everyone wants to help and nobody knows what to do about it. So they're sending aid and protection to the next township over." She wrinkled her nose as she looked around. "Why are you here?"
"Kenobi sent me to investigate," he said softly, laying his hand on a long burn on the ground. When the Togruta looked at him with confusion on her face, he sight and quietly explained, "He didn't do this, and he wants me to find proof of who did."
"...he didn't do this?" she asked, her jaw slack as she stared at the man. If the Sith had done this, he probably would have brushed it off, but he sent his top guy to see to it. Perhaps she had been wrong. "Well, if he didn't, who did?"
Vos scoffed. "Skywalker, of course."
"What, Anakin?" Ahsoka laughed. "No, Anakin wouldn't do this. He's a great Jedi. He's a little emotional, but he isn't a murderer." When Quinlan didn't answer, she pursed her lips, pouting to convey her displeasure. "Well, why! Why would you think Anakin did this? You liked Anakin!"
"Yeah, I did," Vos said as he stood up, helping the little Togruta to her feet. "But that doesn't mean he can't change, and Skywalker's fallen hard. He hates Obi-Wan, and this is where he's from, his parents lived here." The Togruta's heart skipped, and she lurched forward. She didn't want to believe it was possible, but...
She grabbed Quinlan's hand. "Follow me," she said quickly, and without waiting for a response, she rushed from the house and ran down the street, ducking into alleyways and between houses in her haste. Finally, she stopped outside the home, the creepy house, and watched as her former Master tensed, shook slightly, then relaxed, as if welcoming the darkness that poured from the door. He walked in without a moment's hesitation, his eyes roving about the room and taking it all in, his hand laying on the abundance of deep gouges, and he hissed in frustration and rage.
"The trouble with my particular gift," Vos said softly as Ahsoka looked on, "is that no matter how much I learn, visions don't constitute proof." He exhaled sharply in an attempt to relieve his tension. "Your instinct was spot on. This is where the Kenobi's lived. Sith hells..."
"Did you see Anakin?" she asked carefully, not sure if she wanted the answer, but sighed in relief when the Kiffar shook his head. "No, blue flashes from the lightsaber, his parents...I think I know more about his parents than he does, he looks so much like his father." He paused and shrugged. "If he ever aged." Ahsoka quickly sifted through her bag and after a moment of frustration, she turned it over and dumped its contents on the floor. It was mostly junk, mostly useless, but Quinlan's eyes were instantly drawn to the blaster that lay tangled in a heap of clothing, and before he could reach for it, Ahsoka took it into her hands and held it out to him.
"I found this in here," she said somberly. "I know you're not supposed to use your powers with weapons, but...you're sort of used to dark feelings now, huh?"
"You could say that," he muttered, smiling softly as he took the weapon, and a moment later, he saw it. The blue lightsaber in a gloved hand, the black cloak, the menacing figure's face contorted in rage as his blue eyes shifted to a pale, sickly yellow. There was fear, abject terror, screams and two shots fired before there was nothing. With a sharp gasp for breath, Quinlan opened his eyes, his heart beating fast with the fear experienced, Ahsoka kneeling to put her things back into her bag, but her eyes stayed fixed on the Kiffar as she worked.
"Did you see him?" she asked softly, and this time, Vos nodded, grabbing the Togruta's wrist to keep her from putting the small object into the bag.
"Yeah, it's Anakin," he muttered as Ahsoka dumped the bag's contents out again, and Vos quietly picked up each object in turn, putting some back in the bag after only a moment and others to the side when he determined they needed a second look. "I should have gotten here sooner, maybe there would have been more to go on, but this place has been swarming with Jedi until now, and Kenobi told me to stay hidden..."
"I heard some of them talking, a lot of them don't know why they were here either." She shrugged. "One said something about orders directly from the High Council. Said it was important." Vos closed his eyes as he picked up objects from his pile one after the other, holding them tightly for a moment before putting them back in the bag.
"How close is the nearest township?" he asked, a smirk on his face that Ahsoka knew all too well. Vos found something.
"Pretty close." She paused to bite her lip as she considered the distance. "Really close. It only take ten minutes or so to run there."
"With or without the Force?"
Ahsoka smiled sheepishly. "Maybe with just a little bit. I figure it's no more than five miles away, though."
"You're right, that's very close," Vos said, excited as he stood and handed the bag back to Tano, who immediately slung the straps over her shoulders. "I'm thinking someone got away. And if that someone didn't make it, I'm thinking that someone in the next town over may have seen the very distinctive Jedi starfighter flying down." He grinned. "Wanna go find them?" Ahsoka didn't need to answer. Her grin said it all.
Together, the bounded out of the house, running only a short ways down the street before they skidded to a stop at the sight of a glowing blue lightsaber thrumming in the air before them. Neither of them could breathe for a moment as they stared at the Jedi that held it, and in an instant, Vos' green was in his hands, ready to attack. But Ahsoka just relaxed and smiled, whimpering softly when she looked into the face of Plo Koon. Seeing her made the Jedi falter, his lightsaber wavering in his grip, and he dropped it to catch the Togruta when she threw herself into the Kel Dor's arms.
"By the time I returned to Coruscant and heard you left the Order," Master Plo said softly, his voice filtered through his breathing apparatus, "you had been gone for days. I tried to find you, little Soka, I did..."
"I'm sorry," she whimpered, clutching the man closer to her, her shoulders shaking with emotion, and the Jedi only held her tighter. Vos took a look at the pair and shut his lightsaber off. He may have been looking for a fight before, but the reunion with the girl Master Plo had found, the tiny Togruta that he had looked after as a youngling had softened the Jedi. He had nothing to fear from Plo Koon. "Leaving without saying goodbye made it easier, I had to, I-I-"
"Hush now, I understand..." Vos couldn't see the Kel Dor's eyes because of the filters he wore over his eyes, but he could feel him staring. Koon held Ahsoka at arm's length, looking her over carefully, feeling her through the Force, and then he looked back at Vos. "Did you leave the Jedi to join your Master in the Dark Side?"
"No," Ahsoka said quickly, sniffling and wiping tears away from her eyes. "No, I'm working with Senator Organa and Mand'alor Bo-Katan with relief efforts. It's..." She stopped, looked up at the sky as she considered her word choice. "...difficult," she settled on, "but it's rewarding, and I'm slowly finding the answers I was looking for."
"And you, Master Vos?" the Jedi said, drawing to his full height and calling his lightsaber back into his hand. Quinlan was about to reach for his own then the Kel Dor clipped it back on to his belt. "What business do you have here?"
"Investigating."
"For your Sith Master?"
"For my friend Obi-Wan," he snapped, harsher than intended. Master Plo was never particularly offensive to him, and being so close to Ahsoka made him important to Vos as well. "It isn't all world burning and slaughter over here, you know. Sometimes, we need to set the record straight." Plo was silent for a moment, and Vos could feel him observing him, not just with his shielded eyes, but through the Force. He was guarded, yes, but he had the feeling that the Master could see right through him, which Vos found odd since he didn't have any eyes.
"There has been talk within the Council," he said slowly, cautiously, and Vos instantly bristled. "Some of us believe this was not Kenobi's doing."
"Are you one of them?"
He was silent for a moment, shifting from foot to foot before he quietly said, "I have reasons for doubt. I came to see if I can find the truth myself, though I hope I find it was him. The alternative is...quite distressing."
"Skywalker," Vos said somberly, and the Kel Dor slowly nodded.
"Quinlan says he saw Anakin, Master Plo," Ahsoka said quietly. "He touched a blaster that was fired and he saw him." The Kel Dor looked quickly to Vos in what he imagined was surprised, and cut off the question before the Jedi could ask it.
"It's true. I know it's not proof, but that's what Kenobi sent me to find."
"Do you want to come?" Ahsoka said brightly, and neither man could resist. "Quinlan thinks he found something!"
"If it's not too much trouble..." Plo said, observing the Kiffar once again, and Quinlan scoffed and glared at the Jedi Master as he passed by, his hands in his pockets and looking as uncaring as he ever did.
"Do what you like," he drawled. "Kenobi told me not to engage any Jedi, so I guess it's fine." The skin around Plo's filtering apperatus wrinkled in the Kel Dor approximation of a smile, and he took Ahsoka's hand and followed the Kiffar out of the village and into the grassy, rolling hills.
Stewjon was...beautiful, Quinlan thought, the silence between the three allowing him to listen to the whistle of the wind through the thin, green grass, the soft cooing of wildlife from the safety of their trees, the chirping of birds as they flew through the air. It didn't feel like a massacre had taken place here not so very long ago. It just felt serene, peaceful. Perfect for a young Force sensitive to grow up on before being carried away for a life of containment in the Jedi Temple. He imagined a little Obi-Wan running about here as a child, the calm and peace making it easy for him to connect with the Force, and he wondered how easy it was for his parents to give their son to the Jedi. None of it mattered, of course, but Quinlan wondered if life would have been better for Obi-Wan if he were free of all this.
He was drawn out of his thoughts when the Kel Dor chuckled deeply behind him. "You haven't changed so much, Master Vos." Quinlan frowned, turned around to walk backwards to face Plo and Ahsoka, and wiggled his fingers. Menacingly.
"I'm apprentice to a Lord of the Sith, Jedi. I've embraced the Dark Side."
Plo grunted his ascent. "You are darker than you were, yes, but not so dark as they are saying. They would be content to see you as a monster, but that is not the case, that much is obvious."
"You haven't seen me in action," he growled, but the Kel Dor just chuckled.
"You have always walked the edge, and now is no different. You are simply on the other side. That is not so terribly different. You are still the same man, or Ahsoka would not feel such ease around you."
"I'm sorry, did you not hear me when I said that I joined the Sith?" Vos said, his voice raised, but strangely, his voice didn't carry over the gently rolling hills. He looked over his shoulder and saw the township not far off. Plo seemed to brush even that off with an easy laugh.
"The Sith..." he drawled. "The Sith will suit you no better than the Jedi. You are a free spirit, Vos. No rule can contain you." Vos bit his lip as he felt himself flush with irritation, and he quickly turned around to face forward when Ahsoka began laughing. "You fell, Vos," Plo began again, "because of misplaced emotion gone wrong, and you joined the Sith to stand by your friend."
"You don't know me!" Vos snarled. "You know nothing about me!"
"I do," the Jedi insisted. "It's obvious in everything you do. You have always missed Kenobi. I...understand the draw of wanting to be reunited with one that close to you."
Vos sped up when they came over one of the many hills and looked down to the village just beneath them, and muttering swift thanks to the Force, he rushed down the grassy slope to stand in the village, his quick eyes scanning the people in the streets. When Plo and Ahsoka joined him, he quietly commanded them to let him do the talking, and they agreed it was for the best. Together, they went in search of their evidence.
Not only did the villagers see the ship that brought the agent of death to the neighboring village, but they were harboring not one but three people who had escaped the slaughter. They had hidden from the other Jedi that had come to ask questions, but the people recognized Ahsoka as being from the relief effort, and they were more than happy to talk with her. She was here to help, after all. Quinlan recorded the interviews, and all three had been very detailed, very descriptive, and the trauma, the terror had kept the memory of it fresh in their minds.
Only one of them had seen the yellow Jedi starfighter as it landed just outside, but they all heard the screams, all saw the blue blade as it cut through people when they ran, all saw the heavy black cloak of the Jedi. But one, a girl no more than ten, had seen the monster's face. His hair fell to his shoulders in gentle waves, his face clean shaven, his eyes a cold, piercing blue, and he was tall, nearly the same height, she said, as Quinlan, and down his face, he had a thin scar that just missed the outside of his eye. It was enough, and the description was spot on. She was clearly describing Anakin Skywalker, and it was enough for even the Jedi to agree that there could be no doubt. He had sensed in the girl nothing but fear and honesty. The girl was telling the truth. When they were done, Vos pocketed the datapad and the three left town in a hurry. The anxiety in the Jedi was palpable, and it was making Ahsoka and Vos extremely uncomfortable. Ahsoka coped with it by clinging tightly to the Kel Dor's arm. Vos coped by holding his holodisc out in front of him and placing a call. The small blue image flickered on a moment later, and a wide grin spread across his face.
"Hello, lover..." Quinlan drawled, and the Sith Lord chuckled and crossed his arms, a small smile on his lips.
"You're interrupting something important, Vos," Obi-Wan said softly, mock importance in his voice as he thrust his thumb over his shoulder. "I've got Cody tied up to the bed. He wanted to wait for you, but I don't have that kind of patience."
Vos hissed in irritation. "Insatiable Sith bastard...you know, if I knew you had an appetite like this, I would never have given you my virginity, you're turning me into a beast."
"Oh, please," Kenobi scoffed. "I don't think you've ever been a virgin, you were drinking and whoring the moment you left your mother." Slowly, Ahsoka and Plo Koon's faces appeared behind the Kiffar's shoulder, and the amusement dropped away from Kenobi's face as his relaxed posture straightened. "Friends, Quin?" he asked softly, and Vos' grin faded.
"I'm on Stewjon, Kenobi, I found your proof." Obi-Wan's eyes seemed to brighten.
"It would seem," Plo Koon said tentatively, "that you are innocent of this particular attrocity."
"Well, if the Jedi is admitting it, it must be good. You're beautiful, Quin, well done."
The Kiffar beamed. "We found witnesses, I recorded their interviews, and I'll be copying the files to a data drive for you. I'd send it, but Barriss thinks that Tarkin is intercepting Separatist communications. Again. And those are the last hands we want this in."
Kenobi nodded. "We don't want Skywalker returning there to finish the job, no." A soft smile came across his face when Ahsoka pushed her way into view. "Lady Tano," he drawled, and the Togruta wrinkled her nose in distaste. "How's Bo-Katan treating you?"
Ahsoka crossed her arms defiantly. "She's...alright. Too Mandalorian."
"I'm sure she thinks you're too Jedi. She spoke highly of you the last time we spoke."
The Togruta's jaw dropped. Bo-Katan was a hard woman and she never complimented anyone. Ever. "What, really?!"
"Obi-Wan," Plo Koon cut in, and the ease on the Sith Lord's face faded away into guarded caution. "The implications of what we have discovered here are extremely distressing, and I imagine it's not just for us." When the Sith Lord said nothing, the Kel Dor took a breath and continued. "Luminara has been in frequent talks with Master Yoda. Alone. I can only imagine it's about this, they began right after the massacre here. There have been...rumors about the possibility of working with you. Is that true?"
"...it may be, yes." Kenobi ran a hand through his hair and looked off to the side, his eyes closed as he thought, and he silently mouthed something to himself, as if he were carrying on one half of a conversation. "I understand the importance of this information to your Order, Jedi. I'm willing to provide you with the physical evidence that Quinlan is in possession of if you're willing to come talk to me."
Plo Koon nodded. "I would be happy to."
"Quinlan," Kenobi quickly commanded, "bring Master Plo to me. I've recently transferred to Mustafar. Bring Ahsoka, if it pleases you. I'll be meeting with Bo-Katan in the morning, she can pick Lady Tano up then."
"Ugh, stop calling me Lady!" Ahsoka snarled, and Quinlan and Plo both chuckled in amusement.
"Will do, Kenobi," Vos said, winking. "Be there soon. Tell Cody not to wait up for me." Obi-Wan flashed Vos a devious smirk before the hologram flickered off, and Quinlan placed the device back to its spot on his belt.
"I'd be inclined to believe this was a trap if the circumstances weren't so dire," Koon said softly. "Anakin would be a powerful rival for him among the Sith."
"Kenobi has no rival among the Sith, Plo," Vos said, his tone superior and cocky, as if the accomplishment were his own. "Or among the Jedi. But...he is worried about what his Master is planning for Skywalker. He's already been replaced once by him. He hates being replaced."
When the village came back into view, silent and still and unnerving, the three stayed clear of it, circling around wide as if coming too close would disturb restless, angry spirits of the slaughtered. When Quinlan's ship came into view, Ahsoka tapped him on the shoulder, and the Kiffar stopped to look at the somber girl. Anakin had been her friend, after all. She was taking this harder than she was letting on. At least when he fell, he didn't go down murdering a village of innocent people. Quinlan frowned when he felt a sudden surge of guilt for what his own turn to the Dark Side had done to the apprentice he loved. Perhaps Plo was right. Perhaps he just walked the edge.
"I need to go tell Senator Organa that I'm leaving," she said softly. "I'll meet you back here soon, alright?"
I'll go with you," Master Plo said, his hand on her shoulder. "I need to contact the Council and tell them what I've learned and where I'm going."
"Careful about who you tell," Vos warned. "If I know the Council, not all of them will exactly be receptive to this without hard evidence." Plo said nothing, but nodded his acknowledgment. "We'll meet at my ship in ten minutes." They parted company, and Vos slowly walked toward his ship, a satisfied smile on his lips. This information was essential to Kenobi's plans. Exposing what Skywalker had become could very possibly take him out of the picture, at least temporarily, and while Vos knew that the Sith Lord was itching for a fight, his sights were set on Sidious, not Skywalker. In their training together, Kenobi had attempted to approximate his Master's style to the best of his abilities in order to prepare Vos for what he would face when they went to kill him. Kenobi had made no illusions about the danger that Sidious possessed, and even together, the Sith Master was more than a match for them. It was part of the reason that Kenobi had reached out to the Jedi. Bringing down Sidious would be far easier with someone like Master Yoda to help, and with how dire things had become, it was a possibility that the Grandmaster may actually help.
But all of it was predicated on getting this information to Kenobi. His plans did allow for some leeway in the event that Skywalker had somehow not made any mistakes in his first slaughter. It would just take longer, and with Skywalker elevating himself to a very real, very present threat, removing him sooner rather than later was essential. This information was going to do it. With Skywalker exposed, the Senate couldn't possibly do anything other than arrest him for the undue slaughter of innocent people, and the Jedi would be eager to take down another Sith Lord in the making. They had enough of those as it was. This was it. Skywalker was finished.
Vos stopped suddenly as he drew closer to his ship, his chest tight and his anger swiftly spiking to dangerous levels, his eyes blazing as he looked at Asajj Ventress. It seemed that everyone was converging on Stewjon that day. For such a small, insignificant planet, it certainly was becoming a popular destination. Upon seeing him, Ventress' eyes seemed to light up with longing, and she began to rush toward him, and stopped, hands raised, when he drew and ignited his lightsaber, the green blade humming dangerously.
"Quinlan, I-"
"Shut up." She did as she was told, and it only served to make Vos more angry. "You've had time to make peace, Ventress, I hope you're ready to die."
"I had to see you again," she said firmly, much stronger than she felt, her limbs twitching in anticipation as she felt the Dark Side wrap around the man that used to be her lover. "Vos, I am so sorry."
It was too much, and with a cry of fury, Vos rushed toward Ventress and slashed down at her, his blade cutting dangerously close to her face, but the athletic woman nimbly dodged out of the way, her own blades flying to her hand and igniting with a flash of red. Vos quickly reeled around and struck again, hard and fast and relentless, without mercy or remorse, and a swift retreat as she blocked the raining blows was all Ventress could manage.
"Vos, please," she said between clenched teeth. "I don't want to fight you!"
"Than lay down your weapons and die already!" the Kiffar snarled as he batted away one of her blades and drove the tip of his saber toward her chest, but her other lightsaber caught it and deflected it harmlessly to the side. He eyed the woman, her stance defensive, her manner desperate, the red blades in her hand seeming to fly with a will of their own to block his strikes, and deep inside him, Vos couldn't help but feel...impressed. Even having released her embrace of the Dark Side, she was powerful. He finally caught her, pressed both blades down beneath his own and circled his lightsaber around, flinging Ventress' weapons up and pulling her off balance. He gripped his saber in both hands and brought the blade down as hard as he could, but she just managed to bring her twin sabers crossed up before her, the strike so strong it sent the woman to her knees. Her jaw tightly clenched, she pressed back against Vos as he bore down on her, his blade creeping ever closer to her with each passing second, but she couldn't move without releasing his blade, and the second she did, it would be over.
"These are the weapons of the Dark Side," Vos growled as he leaned in, pressing closer to her, and Ventress steeled herself as she looked into yellow eyes rimmed with gold, hatred and fury blazing within them, and she knew that she had done this. "You don't deserve to use such weapons..."
"And you still use the blade of a Jedi." Despite the overwhelming presence of the creature of hatred and rage above her, Ventress sounded calm and honest, and Vos felt his chest tighten as he suddenly struggled to breathe, the conversation he had with Plo suddenly echoing in his mind with new importance and meaning. You have always walked the edge, he had said. Vos snarled and pressed harder, pushing the Jedi's voice to the side.
"Kyber crystals are hard to come by," he growled. "Perhaps I'll take your blade after I kill you..."
"Master!" His attention quickly diverted to the new voice that rang clear in the air, and the momentary loss of focus was enough for Ventress to quickly deactivate her blades and roll out of the way before Vos's green cleaved into the ground. She stood quickly and reactivated her weapons and looked at her fallen lover as he cursed and spat and glared at the two newcomers. "Master, don't do this!" Ahsoka said again, rushing forward, but Plo Koon's hand wrapped around her wrist and kept her from advancing. Vos pointed his weapon at the Kel Dor and the Togruta.
"If you know what's good for you, Plo, you'll keep Ahsoka away from me! I must finish this!"
"She loves you, Master!" Ahsoka shouted as Quinlan turned his furious gaze back on Ventress. "Surely the Dark Side hasn't blinded you so much that you can't see that!"
"She lied to me, she killed my Master, she used me!"
"And I am so sorry, Quinlan!" Ventress shouted, her voice suddenly hitching and she shuddered, shoulders shaking and looking away from the furious man. The tip of Vos' lightsaber began to waver. "All I want is you," she whispered in a voice so much weaker than Vos was used to. "It's all I can think about. How much I want you, what I would give to have you back, what I had so stupidly done to lose you..."
"You're lying," Vos snarled, but it lacked the conviction of before. All he could think about was what Ahsoka had said, how Ventress had been honest on Serenno, how they returned as quickly as they could to rescue them, how she flew into untold danger for love.
"If she didn't care for you, she wouldn't be here now!" Ahsoka cried. "Why can't you see that?! Dooku is dead, what use could she possibly have for you now!"
"I can't stand to see you with the Sith, Quinlan," Ventress said as she turned off her weapons. "You don't deserve to be enslaved by that sort of hatred."
"I don't care about the Sith!" the Kiffar shouted, much louder, much more angry than he actually felt, like it was some kind of release, some pent up emotion that had been weighing on him without his notice. "I don't care about the Separatists, or the Republic, or the Jedi, or any of it! I joined the Dark Side, I follow the Sith because that's where Obi-Wan is." With a cry of anger and frustration and rage, Quinlan shut off his lightsaber and threw it to the ground, and Ventress felt her legs turn to jelly beneath her. She stumbled, almost fell several times as she rushed to Quinlan, stopping just in front of him when his fist balled into a tight fist, and she finally understood. So much had been pushing Vos to the Dark Side, and perhaps he fell because of her betrayal, but he had stayed for friendship. And that wasn't a thing born in darkness.
"Quinlan," Ventress said softly, extending her hand to the Kiffar, and a flash of anger crossed his face for just a moment before it faded into want, longing, desperation, just as strong as Ventress' identical emotions. "I can't serve the Dark Side, but I want to stay by you, and if you're doing this to help him..." She took a deep breath, her eyes fixed on his. "Maybe he can find it within him to forgive me. Maybe...we can be friends again, and we can all be together."
She didn't notice it at first. It was slow, gradual, but she did see it. The blood red and the pale yellow of his eyes began to darken, red becoming his deep, rich brown and yellow darkening ever so slightly with the promise of fading completely. He quickly reached out and took her hand, drew her against him, and embraced her tightly, grasping onto her so tightly she thought she could not breathe, but she didn't care. This was all there was. This was everything. They would work through everything else together.
Ahsoka breathed a sigh of relief and sagged against the Kel Dor, the pounding in her chest finally beginning to slow. She felt exhausted, far more than she had in a long while, and she could have stayed like that forever, could have easily fallen asleep against the Jedi Master, but he gently nudged her to stand on her own, and the Jedi slowly approached the two lovers, Ahsoka closely following behind. "Vos," he said firmly, and if the Kiffar heard him, he made no indication of it. "Vos, something is wrong. I couldn't get my message to the Council. Communications are jammed."
"What?" That got his attention. He pulled away from Ventress, but kept one hand entwined with hers, the other extended to call his fallen lightsaber back to him. "That's impossible, I contacted Kenobi just a moment ago."
"Then what happened was recent. We need to leave. I will try to contact the Council when we are aboard your ship." Vos nodded, but said not a word more, walking swiftly to the ship and pulling Ventress behind him, who eagerly followed. It only took a moment for everyone to be secured, and without wasting a second longer, Vos lifted them off the ground and flew them up toward the expanses of space. He tried to patch through to Kenobi through the ship's comlink, but Plo had been right. Communications had been jammed. He tried again on his personal device, but to no different result. There were many reasons why communications could fail, especially way out in a little system like this. He tried not to worry about it as his shuttle raced through space, away from Stewjon and out toward the system's other planet, the even smaller, less beautiful world of Colstev. They circled around it to where the dreadnaught Enigma hung hidden from view of Stewjon, and within moments, they were inside the massive ship, the compliment of battle droids saluting as their commander returned to his post.
They all kept close to Quinlan, as if the closer they stood, the safer they were. These weren't the droids they saw so often as they battled their way across the galaxy, weren't the mass produced machines that fell so easily to Jedi blades. These droids were advanced, the prestigious elite of the Separatist army, MagnaGuard and BX series droid commandos, the most dangerous droids they faced on the field. In the presence of the Separatist commander, it was as if the others weren't even there. With a battalion like this, it was no wonder that Vos had been able to be as destructive as he was.
They reached the command deck quickly via central corridors and elevators, and Ahsoka couldn't help but notice that the ship seemed so much smaller when you didn't need to sneak around through ventilation ducts and tiny, winding maintenance corridors. The bridge was wide and open, offering plenty of space for the commander to wander around the deck and look out the surrounding transparisteel that served the organic commander as an observation deck, the reddish brown of Colstev large off the starboard side. It seemed as though Quinlan didn't share his Master's distaste for droids, as several were milling about and operating the complicated control consoles of the ship. Vos strode to the holotable that sat in the middle of the deck, immediately linking up his datapad to the device, selecting the desired programs, and sending the information through. A light on the datapad flashed as it began transferring the data.
"I need this data compressed, translated, and transferred to a data stick," Vos commanded, and several droids muttered their affirmative at the command. The process wasn't a long one, but for the group, a sudden anxiety had taken hold, a sense of intense unease that seemed to permeate everything. "Somebody patch me through to Lord Lumis and get this ship powered up. I want to be out of here as quickly as possible." Again, a cascading, metallic affirmative went up on the bridge, and the droids began their task, beeping and clicking and whistling at each other as they communicated.
"Do you think Obi-Wan will let me back?" Ventress said softly, trying to contain the tremor in her voice and failing horribly. Vos absently nodded, his eyes on the datapad, obsessively watching the progress bar. The more intently he stared, the slower it seemed to go.
"Obi-Wan and I discussed you a while back," he said softly, finally tearing his eyes away from the progress of the transfer and looking at the Nightsister, a soft smile on his lips. With Talzin and Savage dead and Maul as good as dead, Ventress remained the last of the children of Dathomir. "He seemed open to the idea of you coming back. He said you would make a fine ally."
"...I have missed him," she said softly, grabbing Quinlan's hand and leaning her head against his shoulder. The Kiffar's ease faded, though, when the droids reported that they could establish no communications with Lord Lumis. As suspected, communications had been jammed. Plo Koon growled softly, his hands running over the controls of the holotable, and he quickly punched in the call code for the Jedi High Council. The results were the same as before. The hum of the engines as they powered up filled the air around them, and slowly, the dreadnaught began to pull away from the planet, heading for the nearest hyperspace relay.
As the data finished translating, Vos played back the interviews, one after the other, staring in rapt attention at the oppressive fear of the people they talked to. Ventress held Vos' hand tighter, the meaning of these recordings painfully clear. Obi-Wan hadn't led the slaughter on Stewjon. It was a Jedi, and she recognized the description as that of Anakin Skywalker. As the recordings finished their playback, Plo Koon mournfully groaned.
"We spent so long training Anakin to fight Obi-Wan," the Jedi said softly. "We had assumed that they stood to oppose each other. We had thought that one vergence in the Force would be strong enough to negate the other."
"It is that way, isn't it?" Quinlan asked. "I mean, they've always been at each other, it has always been Kenobi and Skywalker."
"Maybe so..." Master Plo said. "But so much of his recent training has been done with Obi-Wan in mind, so much done to drive in him the idea of purging Kenobi from the galaxy. No wonder he is obsessed. No wonder this massacre happened. No wonder he fell to the Dark Side. We did this," the Jedi droned morosely, gripping the holotable and hanging his head. "We did this."
The lights on the bridge suddenly cut out, the hum of the engines fading as the ship powered down, and that feeling of unease could no longer be ignored. "Sir?" one of the droids at the controls droned somewhat nervously. "We seem to be having some difficulty."
"Whatever it is, fix it!" Quinlan snarled, rushing over to one of the other stations and grabbing the data stick with the interviews on it and tucking the device into his robes. He ran over to the scanners and quickly looked over them as the ship switched over to emergency power, and he felt his heart stop when he saw something behind them at the edge of their reading. Quickly, he flipped on the rear cameras and looked on the display, his eyes widening as he looked upon a large, Republic cruiser, four large, round protrusions upon its wings that made it seem ungainly, but it was surprisingly quick.. "Forget it," Vos said swiftly. "Forget fixing the problem, we're jumping to hyperspace on emergency power. Now."
The droids moved to do as commanded, and the ship responded, though it complained to do so. The dreadnaught rumbled, the ship shaking under their feet as the hyperdrive began to roar, the stars around them beginning to streak as the ship readied to jump, and they lurched forward in a sudden stop, the straining wheeze of the engines drowned out by the blaring of alarms and the flashing of warning lighting. Sensing the ship's distress, the droids cut the power entirely, leaving the ship running on its emergency power. Still staring at the screen, Plo Koon shook his head.
"That's an Interdictor Cruiser, and those," he said, pointing to the semi-spheres on the wings, "are gravity well projectors. We aren't getting away."
"Yes we are!" Vos snarled, rushing to the console and quickly diverting the necessary power to the escape pods. "We have to, we need to get this information to Obi-Wan." With the power diverted, he grabbed the datapad from the holotable, threw it to the ground, and smashed it under his heel. He flashed a quick grin to his companions, motioned for them to follow, and they all sprinted toward the blast doors to get to the hallways and the escape pods beyond. Just as he began punching in the code to release the locks on the doors, a blue lightsaber thrummed and hissed it's way through the doors right by his head, and with a startled gasp, the Kiffar jumped back, watching as the thick metal was reduced to dripping, molten sludge. He looked back at the bridge behind him at the Jedi, his former Padawan, and his lover, and Quinlan Vos felt his chest tighten. There was nowhere to go.
With a snarl of fury, he took his lightsaber in his hand and ignited it, the green blade seeming to thrum with as much anger as the man that held it. "Alright," Vos snapped, his blood racing as he called the Force to him. "Our top priority is getting this data to Obi-Wan."
"Shouldn't our lives be our top priority?" Ventress hissed, and Vos' shoulders tightened with tension.
"That's implied, Asajj! We can't deliver this thing if we're dead, and I have no intention of dying today, not when I just got you back, not when Obi-Wan needs me." Vos quickly surveyed the room, watched as the cut in the door slowly grew larger. "Alright, we're going to get this guy, partner up," the Kiffar commanded, grabbing Ventress hand and smiling softly as the Jedi moved protectively in front of Ahsoka, his blue blade ignited. "We need to get out of this room, we need to get to the escape pods just down the hall. It isn't far, we should be able to manage." He whistled, and the droids snapped to attention. "We don't know what this guy's brought with him, so whatever you do, don't let anything in here. There's only one way out, and it's through them."
"If this is a Jedi-" Plo began, but Vos quickly cut him off.
"This isn't a Jedi, this is Skywalker. We all know it, so man up and do what must be done." There was no argument after that. Ahsoka and Ventress lit their lightsabers, four more blades between them humming to life, and Vos preyed that it would be enough. They've faced worse before. Vos focused himself, watching as the molten trail circled up, and when the lines of the large circle finally touched, Vos pushed hard against the cut metal with the Force, sending the circular metal cutting flying backwards, and several screams could be heard as people were crushed under the weight of it. It gave them a moment where the way was clear, and with a wave of his hand, the droids begun pouring blaster fire blindly through the hole. The head start had been welcome, but the delay only lasted a moment. After that, the troops beyond the door began returning the fire, and the droids rushed forward toward the opening as clone troopers began pouring in.
The air was filled with blaster fire and screams and the sparking groan of destroyed droids, the swift thrum of lightsabers deflecting the fired plasma back at the clones that shot it. It was the worst kind of battle, the careless brutality of one that views those under their command as expendable, and while droids were expendable, it hurt the Jedi and Ahsoka to see the bodies of clones thrown in to their deaths so easily, their bodies quickly piling up as they rushed forward and quickly died. Before long, there were no droids left, only the four lightsaber wielders deflecting fire from clones that blocked their only escape. Slowly, they advanced, carefully aiming their deflections to strike at the clones, drawing closer and blades moving faster as they increased their rate of fire. And suddenly, they stopped firing, and nobody had to tell the four Force sensitives that this was their chance. They rushed forward, lightsabers held before them, and quickly ceased their advance when the reason for the break in the fighting walked through the opening and stood facing them, blue lightsaber glowing in his hand and black hood pulled over his head.
Anakin Skywalker.
"Take shots when you have them," he whispered to his clones, his voice cold and hollow. "Don't let anyone leave this room."
"Anakin..." Ahsoka whimpered, stepping forward and hardly able to keep her lightsabers from shaking. "Anakin, please, stop this."
"Oh, Ahsoka..." Anakin said wistfully, almost sweetly, and the Togruta shivered. "Are you conspiring with them now? I should have suspected as much, your Master is Sith." His cold blue eyes narrowed in Vos' direction. "I bet he taught you this whole time to be like them."
Vos' grip tightened on his lightsaber. "Don't you dare bring her into this, Skywalker, this is between you and me."
Anakin scoffed, twirling his blade around his hand. "You and me? Don't lower me to your level, Vos, you are nothing. This is between me and Kenobi..."
He moved fast, almost faster than any one of them could see, and Vos brought up his lightsaber to quickly ward off the flurry of Skywalker's attacks, driven back almost to the viewport. Skywalker didn't let up until Ventress rushed in, her two blades swinging ruthlessly down upon the young man, and Anakin reeled around so fast, whipping his blade around at such speed it nearly cut across Ventress' stomach, the woman only barely able to twist out of the way. When Ahsoka and Plo entered the fight, Anakin stood between them all, deftly blocking and parrying each strike and using his opponents' own attacks against the other, allowing Anakin to be as brutal, as reckless, as wild as he wished, while the other four had to be cautious to keep from hitting each other.
Ahsoka shrieked in pain when she blocked a mad slash from Anakin, her blades crossed before her, momentarily locked with Skywalker and unable to deflect the sudden blaster shot, and plasma burned through her shoulder. The pain was crippling and her arms shook, her legs giving way as she dropped to her knees, and Anakin raised his blade and brought it down toward her, the finishing strike swiftly stopped when Master Plo shot his blade beneath the renegaed Jedi's and knocked it out of the way, but he did not pursue. The Jedi stayed crouched upon the ground over the Togruta, one of her sabers in her hand as he deflected the clone's blaster fire, both away from Ahsoka and his other two allies. When it looked like Anakin would rush the Jedi Master and his fallen charge, Vos intercepted, his green blade sparking against blue, and he pressed Anakin back with an offensive so fierce that it put Skywalker off guard.
Sensing the sudden imbalance in their dangerous opponent, Ventress renewed her efforts, diving deep within the Force for as much power as she could gather, and with a fierce cry, she threw herself at Skywalker, her and Vos keeping the angry young man between them, their minds connecting as they battled as one. For a moment, it was just as it had used to be, Vos and Ventress, the two fighting together, their styles flowing perfectly in a delicate balance of savage strikes and graceful movements, and it was keeping Skywalker off the mark, his blue blade moving fast and wild as he tried to block and parry and dodge strikes from three blades at once. With Plo Koon keeping the blaster fire away as he slowly advanced upon the clones, Ahsoka keeping close beside him, there was nothing to distract Ventress and Vos from Skywalker. The longer they fought, the more in tune they fell, and even as they fought, even as green and red worked in tandem to beat back the swiftly moving blue, Quinlan thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
The Dark Side suddenly spiked, a vicious, sudden surge of cold that pulled the very air out of the room, and they were too late to defend against the sudden fury of Anakin. His entire body seemed to clench with hatred and rage, and with a howling cry, the Force exploded with power, sending Vos and Ventress flying through the air and striking opposite walls of the transparisteel viewport with a hard crack. Quinlan didn't have time to recover before Skywalker was on him, the blue blade beating down on him hard and his own green just barely able to block as he scrambled to get his footing. It wasn't enough, and the vicious attack kept him off-balance, the wrathful Jedi Knight not letting up for a moment as strike after strike sent sparks showering into the air as he tried to beat his way past Vos' increasingly feeble defense.
Ventress rose to her feet as quickly as she could, but everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. She heard the screams of clones as Master Plo cut through the last of them and then quickly reach out with the Force to grab Ahsoka and throw her far away from Skywalker and Vos as they drew dangerously close. She saw Vos, off balance and unfocused as he attempted to recover his footing, but was never able to. She saw Anakin, his face contorted in rage, his eyes a glowing, ice blue, his attacks wild and powerful and so, so dangerous. She watched as Skywalker's blade circled Quinlan's, knocking it to the side with an upward slash so strong that it sent the already reeling Vos staggering, unable to recover fast enough as Skywalker's blade circled around for another upwards slice. Time seemed to stop for everyone except for Ventress, and she was moving before she even thought to. She knew exactly what had to be done.
Quinlan watched as the strike that should have been fatal was miraculously blocked by a red blade, and his heart soared as Ventress's saber slipped under Anakin's and forced it upwards, The blue blade suddenly changed directions in the air, descending rapidly in a violent, slashing strike that was too fast to defend against, and Ventress' scream of pain only lasted for a moment as the blue blade bit down her shoulder and cleaving a line straight down her back, so deep, it nearly cut through her completely. She fell against the horrified Vos, her lightsabers clattering to the floor, the wound too large to fully cauterize and blood splattered everywhere as they fell to the ground together.
He could hear screaming, tortured and pained, and it took Vos a moment to realize it was his own, his attention torn from Skywalker as he turned his lover over and watched the life drain swiftly out of her, her chest heaving and each labored breath bringing more blood to her lips. Anakin broke off the attack, watching as the Kiffar clutched the dying woman to him, and he shivered, a sudden rush of power flowing through him like a current in his blood, his muscles, his bones, and he felt strong. Stronger than he ever had, and he reveled in the feeling of it, pacing like a caged animal for a moment and drinking in the sight of suffering before him. When it became too much, when he felt that no more power could be taken within his body, he raised his lightsaber once again and brought it sweeping down toward the grieving Kiffar, only to have his blade meet the blue of Master Plo Koon.
"Anakin, that's enough!" the Jedi commanded, his voice raised and angry, and Skywalker laughed in disbelief.
"You would defend this Sith Lord?! This is Kenobi's apprentice!"
"And he is beaten, you have won, Anakin, this fight is over! There will be no more death today."
A grim, sinister smile crossed over Anakin's face. "The way I see it, Master, there are three more Sith here. Kenobi's Apprentice, Quinlan's Apprentice, and the Jedi Master that is working with them."
Plo exhaled slowly as he centered himself in the Force. "I only see one Sith here, Skywalker." With a snarl of fury, Anakin held out his hand, one of Ventress' sabers flying to his hand and he activated the red blade and began a vicious attack on the Jedi, faster and stronger than before and far more dangerous with two blades than he was with one. The Dark Side roared within him, incited into a mindless rage by the smell of blood and death and suffering, and with the full rage of Anakin's focus upon him, Plo Koon began to lead Skywalker away from Quinlan and the injured Ahsoka.
Vos touched her face as carefully as he could, as though the slightest touch may break her further, and he stared helplessly as her eyes slowly slid out of focus, but her face was peaceful, like her sacrifice had been worth it. He gripped her tighter. "Don't go," he pleaded, his voice soft and hoarse with emotion, and a slight, pained smile came to her face, the hand that still functioned reaching for his, and she choked as she tried to speak. A swift shudder ran through her, and a moment later, she was gone, limp in his arms, and Vos felt as though the life had drained from him as well.
"Quinlan!" The swift, commanding shout pulled Vos' attention away from the dead woman in his arms, and he looked up to see Plo Koon fighting valiantly against Anakin, but the younger man was far too fast, far too strong, the Force snapping and raging at his command and filling him with power beyond any within the room. Vos rose to his feet, his lightsaber reigniting, the spark of rage giving him new life as he watched Ventress' killer fighting with her lightsaber. He began to advance, started to rush in to help the Jedi, but Plo quickly interrupted him with, "Get Ahsoka out of here!"
"You need help!" he insisted, but a quick grunt of effort from the Kel Dor as he swiped Anakin's blades to the side stopped him again.
"And if we don't manage to stop him, she will die too!" he snarled. "Get out of here, I'll hold him off, tell the Jedi what has happened here!"
Quinlan looked at Ahsoka, the girl grasping her lightsaber in her hand and staggering toward the fight, the wound in her shoulder more serious than he had suspected, and he imagined her dead as well, and he couldn't bear the thought. He called Ventress' other lightsaber to him and whistled sharply as he threw it, the Kel Dor catching his meaning immediately as he threw Ahsoka's lightsaber toward Quinlan just as he caught Ventress' red, igniting it the moment it landed in his hand, and the swift, hard downward strike caught Skywalker off his guard, the tip burning into his leg, enough to enrage him, but not harm him. Vos ran to Ahsoka and grabbed hold of the shouting girl, taking her lightsaber from her and switching it off, and with the girl screaming her objections and crying for the Jedi she loved, Quinlan rushed out of the room and down the hall with the girl in tow.
"Just how deep does the corruption of the Jedi go?" Anakin snarled. "They are Sith and you are helping them!"
"You can still end this madness, Skywalker," Plo gasped, Anakin's strikes becoming faster and heavier, and for just a moment, Plo's blade was trapped under Skywalker's, the blue weapon poised above his head, and Skywalker thrust downwards. The Jedi's blade managed to intercept it, but couldn't deflect it away completely, and Skywalker's lightsaber fell upon the Kel Dor's wrist, his hand and lightsaber falling to the ground. Another quick strike and the other arm was severed, and Plo Koon fell to his knees, Anakin's blade pointed at his throat.
"I am ending it," Skywalker said coldly, and he pressed the blade through the Jedi's neck, swiftly wrenching it to the side to sever his head from his shoulders. He didn't waste a moment longer to rush out of the control deck and down the hall to catch those that had escaped.
With Ahsoka struggling, it was slow going, the helplessly sobbing girl completely inconsolable as Vos punched the console on the wall to open the hatch to the escape pod. The corridor was a stupidly long one, yet another result of idiot engineering on the part of the Separatists. Hissing in frustration as she made yet another attempt to rush back and help the Jedi, Vos grabbed her by the shoulders, the Togruta wincing in pain.
"Ahsoka, listen to me," he growled, taking a deep breath as he organized his thoughts, and he froze when he felt the powerful presence behind him. One look at Ahsoka's face said it all, and he followed her gaze to stare straight at Anakin, the tall man looming at the end of the hallway, an arrogant smirk on his lips, his comlink active in his hand.
"Tarkin, they're going to release an escape pod. I'm going to stop it from launching, but if I don't, shoot it down when you see it." There was tightness in his chest, but Vos felt unafraid. He turned his attention away from Skywalker and back to the shivering Ahsoka. He'd be here before the pod could launch, even if he took his time. There was only one thing left to do. Reaching into his robes, he pulled out the data stick and pressed it into the Togruta's palm and closed her fingers around it.
"Ahsoka, listen to me," he said swiftly, quietly, ignoring the sound of Skywalker's casual, confident footsteps, the thrum of the lightsabers as he ignited them. "You have an important job to do now, alright? You need to deliver this to the Jedi."
"The Jedi?" she muttered. "But Obi-Wan-"
"Obi-Wan knows what happened on Stewjon, but the Jedi don't. We're cutting out the middleman, you need to deliver this to the Jedi."
"But what about you?!" she cried, her voice rising in panic, but the Kiffar just smiled at her.
"I'm going to give you a chance to get away." The frantic Togruta started to speak, but he covered her mouth and clipped her lightsabers on to her belt. "Ahsoka, my actions have hurt you more than I'm sure I know. Let me make it up to you now by buying you the time you need to get away." He pushed her into the escape pod and slammed his hands on the console, the hatch slamming shut and he swiftly locked it, looked over his shoulder at the now much, much closer Anakin, and turned his attention back to the console and began to work as quickly as he could. Ahsoka frantically fumbled inside and activated the intercom.
"Master!" she shouted, her breath hitching with sobs. "You can't do this, you can escape! Please!"
"He's going to cut you out of there before the pod can launch." Vos laughed as his fingers drifted swiftly over the controls. "These things weren't exactly designed to save organics, it's a serious design flaw. If you see Obi-Wan, tell him that needs to be fixed immediately. Or maybe it's just the emergency power, it's always so unreliable."
He was joking, of course, and the gravity of what was happening finally hit her. Quinlan was going to die, and there was no stopping it. He was dying to save her, and she wasn't worth it. "What am I supposed to do, Master?" she whimpered, and the Kiffar looked up at her and smiled, his work on the console done, and Ahsoka found herself looking into the deep, brown eyes of the Master she had loved more than anyone.
"You're going to survive, Ahsoka," Quinlan said firmly. "There should be medical supplies in there with you, you're going to patch yourself up, and you're going to survive, no matter the cost. On that, at least, I taught you well." He pressed his hand to the glass between them and smiled softly, ignoring the thrum of the lightsabers that was now so, so near. "I could not have asked for a better Padawan, my Ahsoka. I am so proud of you." He rose quickly and activated his lightsaber, pointing the green blade at Skywalker, an arrogant smirk on his face that made Vos seethe with anger, and he pressed his hand to the console, the device beeping as it worked to issue his commands, the door hissing as the airlock sealed.
"You think that will save her?" Skywalker asked, tapping his red blade against Vos' green. "It's over, Vos. And I'm really, really going to enjoy killing you."
"Yeah, I bet..." Vos drawled, smirking when the console beside him beeped, and a moment later, Anakin's comlink flashed with an incoming call. Vos grinned. "You've already lost, asshole."
He frowned, hissed in frustration and answered the call. "Which escape pod?" Tarkin asked, his voice strained and annoyed, and Anakin inhaled sharply, swiftly backing away from Vos as the Kiffar batted his blade away and stabbed at his chest. "There are thousands of them."
Anakin didn't say another word as he turned his attention toward the smug Kiffar, his blade raised and ready and looking like he had already won. Rage pulsed within him, greater than any he had ever known, and his burning eyes fixed on the defiant Kiffar, the screaming Togruta pounding on the glass between them as her pod prepared to launch with the thousands of outers. Red and blue blades in hand, Anakin wielded the weapons and the Force like a raging, uncontrolled storm, and to his credit, Quinlan held his ground, keeping the raging Skywalker from getting past him and to the escape pod before it launched.
Ahsoka pounded on the glass, frantically searched for an emergency release or something, and stopped, looking transfixed as Quinlan Vos was slammed against the door. He pressed away from it, hie eyes locking with hers for just a moment before the end of a red blade exited his chest where his heart lay. Ahsoka fell silent, tears streaming from her face as she watched her Master's eyes widen with pain and slowly slide out of focus, a slight smile on his face as a shiver ran through him, and she could feel his presence in the Force vanish completely, the sudden severing of their connection causing her head erupt in pain. The last thing she saw was Anakin Skywalker call Quinlan's lightsaber to his hand, his eyes glowing and yellow and awful in the shadows of his face, and the pod launched, one among thousands as they drifted toward the gravitational pull of nearby Colstev.