He couldn't of been more than fourteen years of age, perhaps younger. Ahsoka was no expert on human ages, despite having grown up surrounded by them, and having one as her Master.

That said, Anakin may have been in his early twenties, but he still acted like a petulant five year old sometimes.

But now, this young Padawan that stood before her, the boy that called himself Caleb Dume only served to remind Ahsoka of one thing. Of one person.

Herself.

She had been as young as him when she was thrown into the war, made to fight on the front lines with the troopers, to bleed with them, to kill with them. To suffer with them. And now, here before her was another young Padawan who was going through the exact same thing.

She could only hope that whoever his Master was treated him as well as Anakin had treated her. If not…

Ahsoka shuddered at the very thought.

"Pleased to meet you young Jedi." Ahsoka replied, bowing to him in response, something that clearly surprised him. She wondered if he had seen the lightsaber attached to her belt and made any assumptions. Perhaps he thought she was a Jedi too?

"Sir," It was the Clone that spoke this time, Commander Grey, as he had introduced himself, "General Billaba and the rest of the troops are inside the caves. We've been expecting you. The Chancellor said you are here to rescue us?"

General Billaba. She recognized the name, despite never having met her in person. Depa Billaba had once been the Padawan of Mace Windu, and thus was known as being one of the more formidable Jedi in the Temple as a whole. One didn't train under Master Windu and not become dangerous. She only hoped that Billaba hadn't inherited her former Master's lack of decorum.

Billaba had also been a Council member at one point, if Ahsoka remembered correctly, but had lost a battle during the war that had left her in a comatose state. Clearly she was now awake, and had a Padawan to boot.

And from the confident way that Caleb held himself, his back straightened and his facial expression serious, it was clear that she had been teaching him for only a short while. The Padawan seemed eager to impress, much like she had been at the start before she stopped caring what Anakin and the others thought about her. In time, Caleb hopefully would too, and forge a much closer bond with his Master than he would otherwise.

There was a major difference between trying to impress someone, and them being impressed by you. If you forced it, as she had tried to on Ryloth, everything would go wrong. But if you let it come naturally, then there would be no need to worry about your Master not being impressed or proud of you, simply because they would be regardless. It was part of the Master-Apprentice dynamic. If you couldn't trust one another and rely on each other, then there was no bond.

Perhaps over the course of this mission she could impart some advice to young Caleb… assuming he'd listen to her at all. She remembered not listening when she had been that young herself, assuming she already knew everything.

Boy had she eaten her own words back then.

"That's part of the mission Commander, but I have another reason for being here. I'll explain once we are inside. Lead me to General Billaba." Ahsoka replied, her voice still modulated by her helmet as she kept her tone steady and professional. She didn't know these Clones. She had no reason to assume they would appreciate her normal style of communication.

"Of course Sir, right this way." Grey replied, before turning on his heel and beginning to walk towards the cave entrance.

Ahsoka followed behind, Caleb by her side the entire time. Out of the corner of her eye, and despite the helmet on her head, she spotted the young Padawan shooting intrigued glances at her as subtly as he could. His eyes appeared to be analysing the suit of armour she wore, as well as judging the differences between them. She wasn't much taller than him, perhaps only by a foot or so, but to Caleb she probably towered above him.

His analysis however did confirm one thing to Ahsoka. He had spotted her lightsaber. His eyes kept moving back to the hilt attached to her belt, his eyebrows rising and his eyes widening in either surprise or confusion. He was clearly trying to piece together something from what he could see. Ahsoka had to admit that for someone so young he was incredibly analytical. Obi-Wan would have loved to teach him.

He may already have at some point. Obi-Wan loved to teach some of the younger initiate classes around the Temple. Anakin less so, not that that surprised her after his initial reaction to her on Christophsis.

Descending deeper into the cave network that the Republic forces had decided to hide in Ahsoka found herself coming into contact with more and more Clones. Several waited at what appeared to be intersections, bathed in the dull light of several floodlights that the troopers had evidently salvaged beforehand. The power cells would not last forever, that Ahsoka knew. It wouldn't be long before all light ceased, and they were left in nothing but pitch blackness.

After a few more moments of navigating through various winding tunnels, Ahsoka found herself emerging into a wide open space, several floodlights basking a much brighter glow than the previous ones around the cavern. Clones stood in various places, some quietly speaking to each other, others being tended to by a designated medic. Some of the Clones glanced over at her, nodding their heads in greeting, despite only just meeting her. They couldn't see her face of course, but then she knew what that was like. She had never needed to see the faces of her own men to know they were watching and paying attention. She'd prefer to of course, but she understood the need for the helmets in war.

Continuing her survey of the cavern, Ahsoka's eyes were drawn to two figures standing by a small holographic interface, clearly one that was portable. She doubted they would carry an entire console down here after all.

The first figure was dressed in the white armour of a Clone trooper, his helmet off as he analysed the information on the hologram, which represented a Separatist looking structure, no doubt the lab she was sent here to infiltrate.

The second figure was a tall woman dressed in the heavy robes of a Jedi, one who either heard or sensed her arrival as she turned to face Ahsoka.

Behind her helmeted visage Ahsoka studied the Jedi Master's face. She had kind eyes, yet ones that were hardened by endless war and violence. It was clear she was no stranger to situations such as this, and was fully aware of the peril that lay ahead.

If she was as pragmatic as the rumours said she was, then Ahsoka would have no problem working with Depa Billaba.

"Commander Grey. Padawan Dume. I trust this is our contact?" Billaba spoke, her voice calm, but not as regal as Ahsoka expected. There was an element of lightheartedness in it that she did not expected from a former apprentice of Mace Windu.

Ahsoka couldn't help but wonder what Windu's opinion of her was.

"Yes General. This is 'The Huntress'."

Behind her helmet, Ahsoka's eyes widened in surprise. Since when was she called that? That was the name she had given to her ship, not herself!

And then it occurred to her. Anakin.

He must have invented some sort of codename for her to keep the Jedi Council off her back, to conceal her identity just as the helmet was doing so now. Why he had used the same name as her ship she didn't know. Perhaps he had panicked and that was the first thing he thought of.

Still, it mattered little. Right now she had a mission to complete. Until she chose to reveal her identity herself, then she may as well use the anonymity granted to her by her former Master.

"Excellent, well thank you for coming so quickly 'Huntress'. The Chancellor was not too forthcoming with information about this facility. Hopefully you can fill us in enough to plan accordingly." Billaba greeted, moving forward to offer her hand to Ahsoka, a gesture which Ahsoka reciprocated. The Jedi Master was taller than her, and had no doubt sensed the Force around her. Still, she said nothing, and asked no questions about it.

Yet.

"I'm pleased to help General Billaba. The Chancellor's reluctance to reveal too much information was necessary to maintain security. If our information is correct, this facility you have discovered is but one blacksite of a much larger research project." Ahsoka replied, stepping towards the hologram of the Separatist structure. She had her own copy of it on the data disk Palpatine had given her before departing, and she had studied it carefully during the trip through hyperspace, looking for any weakness that she might be able to exploit.

"What exactly is the nature of this research project?" The Clone beside Billiba questioned, his stern face turning to Ahsoka.

"We have limited intelligence I'm afraid. The last facility like this that I 'visited' held several storage tanks used to house specimens. They appeared to be studying a species of lizard native to Myrkr. Why, I cannot say for sure, but our intelligence suggests that they intend to create a biological weapon of some kind." Ahsoka replied, extracting her own data disk from a pouch on her armour and presenting it to Billaba. A hologram of one of the lizard creatures appeared before them, rotating slowly.

"So by all accounts we are going in blind then? No knowledge of this weapon whatsoever?" Billaba inquired, surveying the hologram of the lizard intently.

"Indeed, though one thing is certain. They certainly aren't engineering a form of medicine for their troops." Ahsoka replied, hoping that a joke would alleviate some tension she could feel in the air. Her presence here had not gone unnoticed, and whilst everyone had been welcoming so far, she could feel their trepidation through the Force.

A small chuckle came from beside her, causing those assembled to turn their heads in the directions of it's source, only to find a red faced Padawan looking rather sheepish and embarrassed.

"Sorry Master." Caleb spoke afterwards, straightening his posture in an attempt to be perceived as professional. Ahsoka half expected his master to chastise him, as many other Jedi would for such a response.

But instead, Billaba's face adopted a large grin as she too chuckled at the comment. "No need to be sorry Padawan. It was a humorous statement."

At that Caleb's previously straightened posture seemed to deflate slightly, something that pleased Ahsoka. She was glad that his Master wasn't as overly rigid as others could be. Ahsoka could happily work with that.

"Well, it's not going to be easy to get into this facility anyway. The whole area is patrolled by battle droids, and there's only twenty of us left." Commander Grey chose that moment to interrupt, his tone disheartened, yet strangely resolute. It was as if he was expecting to die on this mission.

"A full frontal assault is out of the question. We'd be cut to pieces, even with two Jedi and a whatever you are with us." The second trooper spoke, tilting his head to Ahsoka in the process. No doubt he too had spotted the lightsaber she carried, and was as equally confused as the young Padawan was.

"I agree with you there Captain Styles. Rushing this facility would only lead to fatalities. We must use stealth in this regard." Billaba said, her eyes turning back to the hologram of the facility.

"Easier said than done when you have a legion of battle droids between us and the facility. Unless it's escaped your notice, the facility is out in the open!" The Clone referred to as Styles snapped, his tone far more aggressive than Ahsoka expected. There was something about him that she didn't like.

"Calm down Captain." Grey spoke then, his own voice becoming hardened as he turned towards his subordinate. It was clear that fatigue, as well as the loss of many brothers, coupled with their perilous living conditions had left the Clones with a short temper, not that Ahsoka could blame them. War had its effects on everyone, even soldiers created specifically to fight.

Before any sort of argument could break out, Ahsoka chose to speak.

"Perhaps it would help if we did a little recon beforehand to help plan accordingly. Do we have any way of getting line of sight on this facility?"

"Yes, we do." It was Caleb that answered this time, his youthful enthusiasm showing despite the situation. "There's a tunnel that leads to an opening in the mountainside we are under. It overlooks the valley below where the facility is. You can see for parsecs from it!"

Turning to face the Padawan, a smile on her face hidden behind her helmet, Ahsoka spoke directly to the Padawan.

"Then lead the way Padawan."

Depa Billaba surprised Ahsoka once again. Rather than stop her Padawan wandering off to show what was essentially a complete stranger to a vantage point to observe the facility from, she had instead not only allowed him to lead her, but encouraged him to do so. She was clearly training him up to be a strong Knight, one who would lead with respect and honor.

Ahsoka never would have guessed that Mace Windu's former Padawan would be so lenient.

Caleb had led Ahsoka down yet another series of pathways within the cave network, Commander Grey accompanying them. Several twists and turns later, as well as one section that involved crawling through a tight space, and they emerged at an exit, one that overlooked a large valley below, surrounded by mountains on all sides.

And there, sitting directly in the centre of a large flat plain was the Separatist facility. From her position high up in the mountains Ahsoka couldn't make out the defences, but she was sure they were present. Unlike the facility on Myrkr, this one didn't have endless trees and foliage to conceal it. Despite being surrounded by mountains on all sides, it could easily be spotted from above.

Thus they would have to have other ways of defending themselves. No doubt that meant many droids guarding the facility, far too many for a straight up fight.

"That's the facility down there Sir. It's heavily fortified with what looks like anti-ship cannons, as well several dozen squads of battle droids of many variants. It'd be suicide to attempt to attack that thing!" Grey exclaimed as he moved to stand next to Ahsoka, looking down at the facility. Ahsoka had to agree with the Commander's statement. The facility would be heavily guarded, and would no doubt have some nasty surprises in store.

That said, she needed to get in. And they needed to do it quietly.

"Then it's a good thing we are going to sneak in then." Caleb responded from the other side of Ahsoka, dusting off his robes from where they had crawled through the crawl space beforehand.

"And how exactly are we going to do that then?" Grey inquired, kneeling down at the edge of the opening on the cave, his own helmeted visage scanning over the facility below.

It was a good question. What they really needed was a way of sneaking in, as Caleb had suggested. Approaching across the open plains around the facility would be suicide, as would attempting to land her ship anywhere nearby. Even with the cloaking device there was a good chance that they would be found out and shot down.

Not only that, but if all went to plan then her shuttle was the only means of getting off the planet undetected. It was their escape route.

"There's always a way." Ahsoka muttered quietly to herself, continuing to survey the facility and surrounding terrain below. All it would take was a bit of patience.

Beside her she heard Caleb move, his own eyes surveying the facility below. Part of her hoped he was the one to come up with the plan, not so that she didn't have to, but so that he could take the opportunity to prove himself, both to his troops and to his master. She wouldn't force it, unlike her master had all but done to her at Ryloth, but she still wanted to give him an opportunity.

Then maybe one day he too could say he invented some sort of military maneuver or plan, as Anakin frequently boasted about of his own Padawan.

'Former Padawan.' A voice in Ahsoka's head whispered in despair. She was his apprentice no longer.

It was then that something in the distance caught her eye. On the opposite side of the large canyon, perched on an outcropping of rocks was something small. From the distance, it merely looked like a small dot, albeit one that was moving.

That said, Ahsoka could have sworn that whatever it was was watching her. The Force around her seemed to sing lightly, as if something was calling out to her.

"What is that? I feel something strange." Caleb spoke suddenly, reminding Ahsoka that he was there. Whatever she had sensed in the Force, he clearly had too, and was just as confused as she was.

"A mystery for a later date my young friend." Ahsoka replied, her modulated voice coming out surprisingly soft. If Caleb wasn't confused about who or what she was beforehand, he'd most certainly be now.

"Hey look, we've got another dust storm blowing in. Better get back inside." Grey chose that moment to interrupt, his armoured hand pointing towards a large orange cloud that closed in rapidly, beginning to conceal the mountain range around them, blocking out all sight.

Beside her, Caleb covered his eyes, retreating back into the cave network, Grey on his tail.

Ahsoka paused for a moment, watching as the thick cloud of gritty sand blew throughout the canyon, reducing visibility of the facility below to zero. When she could no longer see said facility, she turned and followed the Padawan and Clone, an idea coming to mind.

Author's thoughts

Well... I'm back... sort of.

Apologies for the temporary disappearing act. I was burned out from writing, plus had other things going on, thus my focus was elsewhere, as you can hopefully understand (or not... who knows)

Still, hopefully this new chapter makes up for it, even if not much really happens in it aside from character development. Caleb is going to be an important character in this story, and thus I wanted to take the time to set him up, as well as begin to establish the sort of relationship he will have with Ahsoka in this story. He's very much in her shoes at this point, young and naive and wanting to help everyone, thus Ahsoka sees herself in him.

And Depa is just generally a nice person who can do no wrong... unlike her own Master. ;)

So yeah, hopefully you liked the chapter, even if it was a bit lacking.

Once again, thanks to my beta reader 'ArrinSnyders'. Your patience and help is greatly appreciated. :)

Next time round, the plan comes together, and Ahsoka and Caleb begin to bond over their similarities.

As usual, comment and speculate at will. Speaking of which:

SWGoji2001: Don't worry about it. It took me a long time to come back and write a new chapter!
Action is indeed coming, as well as plently of Caleb/Depa/Ahsoka moments.
Grievous will certainly be back at some point. When, I cannot say. ;)
Thanks for your understanding regarding being burned out. I hate leaving you all waiting for more, but it was necessary this time. :(
Hopefully I can now resume regularish updates.

Travis Middleton: Glad you liked the appearance of the future Grand Inquisitor. He's the only one that has been fleshed out really so far, unless you count 6 and 9 in the comics. Still, he and his cohorts will have a role to play in the future.
Young non cynical Caleb Dume is great fun to write. He's so innocent and happy. It'd be a shame if something ruined that.

Mysterious guest one: Glad you liked the Temple Guard. He had his cohorts don't necessarily care about Ahsoka... but they do see a like-minded individual who had the courage to do what they don;t quite have the strength to at this point.
Glad you liked the appearance of Caleb. :)

SLE's fave guest: Who knows with Star wars currency. I'd guess Republic credits being different to money on Tatooine is the same as on our planet.
As for the cameos... I have the same concern you do. I wanted to introduce these characters to set up things in the future, such as Caleb and the Grand Inquisitior. Thrawn was purely fan service, and I wanted to write for him in yet another different situation. With Morai I wanted Ahsoka to have a guardian angel type character, one that she will learn more about over time.
Basically, the cameos are there for a reason, but I share your trepidation about there being too many of them. To put some mind at ease, I don;t envision there being any more rebels cameos from this point onwards. Hera is with her father at this point, and Sabine is only a toddlers, and Zeb is most likely doing his honor guard duties so they are out of the picture. More Clone Wars characters will feature in time, including people like Kit Fisto and Plo Koon, so yay for that.
So yeah, thanks for voicing your opinion, one that I do share. Hope you like this chapter, as well as what is to come. :)

HuffleHecate: Kanan is the best... so Caleb must be too. That's reasonable logic... right? XD
Glad you liked his appearance. His role has been expanded a lot more from what I had originally intended.

Kondoru: Thanks... and I know the struggle of studying. :)