"General Grievous, you are a bold one. I was almost beginning to miss your cybernetic tone. Pleased to see you stuck around for once."
Ahsoka had to refrain from rolling her eyes at Obi-Wan's response to the Separatist General. Even when being held captive by a monster, Obi-Wan still somehow found the humour in the situation. It was in a way, frustrating! To an outsider, it might seem like Obi-Wan wasn't taking the situation seriously.
Ahsoka knew differently of course. Obi-Wan might be acting flippant, but he was using humour to disguise his concern about the situation. Obi-Wan was never one to be overtly open with his emotions like Anakin or her. He was better at hiding them than most.
That still didn't stop him from being one of the most caring and warm hearted individuals in the galaxy however. But unlike Ahsoka, General Grievous held a very different opinion in regards to Obi-Wan's attitude.
Like Ahsoka, the cyborg Kaleesh rolled his golden eyes as he moved closer to the ray shield surrounding Obi-Wan. The two mortal enemies were separated by nothing more than a barrier of energy. If that barrier was to drop…
"Impudent as ever General Kenobi… when will you learn?"
"I learn every day, General. It's good for you, even in your old age."
Grievous laughed, actually laughed at Obi-Wan's response. That surprised Ahsoka.
"On that Kenobi, we are in agreement… and I have been doing much learning as of late."
"Congratulations General. Shall I produce a diploma for you?"
Once again Grievous rolled his eyes as he stepped away from Obi-Wan, moving past the ray shield that was around Cody as if he didn't even exist before moving over to face Caleb, who had an angry expression on his face.
"Now now Padawan… anger is not the way of the Jedi, is it?" Grievous taunted as he tapped the ray shield with a single clawed hand, watching as Caleb flinched back suddenly. Ahsoka could feel the Jedi Padawan's terror through the Force. It was not the first time he had encountered Grievous of course, but that hardly mattered when a towering monster stood over you.
"Leave him alone, Grievous." Depa spoke with barely concealed rage at the sight of her trembling Padawan.
"Do not fret General Billaba." Grievous snarled as he glanced her way, "The Padawan is not my target, not at this moment at least."
"Then who is?" Ahsoka called across the room, hand clenched around her hilt, wishing the barrier around her would fade. How she wanted to impale the General on her saber's golden hilt and watch the life leave his eyes.
Grievous turned away from Caleb and began to walk towards Ahsoka, coming to a halt on the other side of the ray shield, just as he had done with Obi-Wan and Caleb.
Grievous seemed to survey her for a few moments, his eyes glancing over her armoured form with interest.
Frankly, it disgusted her. Why was he analysing her in such a way? Hopefully it wasn't for a certain reason?!
"Tell me Tano, did you choose a suit of customized Mandalorian armour for irony's sake? A way of showing your dissatisfaction with the Jedi Council by wearing the attire of their old enemy? Does such heavy armour not impede your fighting style?"
In all honesty, Ahsoka hadn't thought much about her choice of armor after leaving the Jedi Order. At the time it had been nothing more than a useful form of protection, and one that would last a long time as well.
Perhaps, in a way, it was ironic that she wore it. The fraught history between the two groups had not been a peaceful one after all. Even if things were slightly better now, mainly thanks to the tragically departed Satine Kryze, there was still lingering animosity between the Jedi and Mandalore.
Had her subconscious chosen Beskar for the same reason?
"It was cheap and I could afford it." Ahsoka chose the reply dryly, knowing full well in her head that the armour hadn't been cheap at all!
"Do not take me for a fool Tano." Grievous snarled as he turned and walked away from her approaching one of the many Ysalamir holding glass containers in the room. The cyborg general inspected them one by one for several moments before speaking again.
"When this project first began, Count Dooku envisioned a way to remove the greatest threat to the galaxy in a single devastating strike, but without causing massive casualties as other plans would. I questioned him naturally. Surely the best way to eliminate the Jedi was to destroy them all."
"But Count Dooku disagreed?" Obi-Wan spoke up, speculation and confusion on his face, an emotion that Ahsoka shared. Why would Dooku not want to destroy the Jedi! He was a Sith Lord!
"Oh no… Dooku wanted the Jedi gone too, but after a while things… changed. The Count began to piece things together in a much different way, and he came to a different conclusion."
"And what conclusion is that?" Ahsoka inquired, unsure where this was going.
Grievous turned to face the Jedi and Clone held in the ray shields, reptilian eyes oddly expressive in an emotion that was not anger for once, but instead, dread.
"That we are all expendable in the grand scheme of things. His Master would rather see everyone burn and then rule over the ashes. Count Dooku has a different plan in mind, but that requires more changes, shall we say? Doctor!"
At Grievous' call, a tall Neimodian emerged from the doorway the Jedi had previously entered through. The Neimodian moved towards the General and bowed once.
"General Grievous, what need of my services do you have?"
"Tell me Doctor… is it ready?"
The Neimodian rose to his full height, a look of pure glee on his slimy face. Ahsoka already hated him. Everything about him was just… wrong. He felt off in the Force. Corrupted, deluded, mentally broken.
"It is! Come, allow me to show you… show you all." The Doctor directed the last statement at those within the ray shields, his eyes glowing with pure evil.
The Neimodian led Grievous over to another workstation not too far away, his hands moving across several instruments as he spoke.
"It took us a while to determine how exactly the Ysalamir produced such an effect, but all our research led us to this. A signal emitted from the creature via an organ mutation contained within its chest cavity. It emits a form of secretion around the bloodstream that allows the Ysalamir to actively block a beings connection to the Force. The field has a very limited radius of course, but amplified with technology, it can be formed into this."
From a distance, Ahsoka watched as the Doctor opened up the lid of a container. Inside were what looked like several injectors, each filled with a thick liquid of some kind.
Ahsoka had a horrible suspicion she knew what said liquid was.
"I assume this is the secretion?" Grievous inquired, his mind following the same line of thought as Ahsoka's.
"Indeed General. Within Ysalamir, it emits a field that neutralizes the Force. If injected into a Force user..."
"It would take away their ability to use the Force?"
"Permanently."
A low chuckle escaped General Grievous as he turned to face the captives once again, golden eyes bright and full of smug satisfaction.
"You see Jedi… the Force is nothing more than a tool that can be manipulated by even the most basic of creatures. This weapon will mark the turning point of the Clone War! We do not need to kill the Jedi to be victorious, but instead merely take away the source of your power! And in doing so, the peoples of the galaxy will see us not as murderers, but instead as liberators from Jedi oppression!"
Ahsoka listened as the General detailed his plan. The very fact that the Separatist's had even managed to create such a weapon was a testament to their technological genius. If they weren't at war, Ahsoka might have admired their success. The experiments used might have been clearly unethical, but they had produced results… at least according to the Neimodian scientist.
"So you've managed to create an anti-Force weapon… big deal! You've still got an army of Clones to get through before the Republic falls, and my brothers won't go down so easily." Cody snapped in anger at Grievous' apparent success, his posture tense and boiling for a fight.
The General laughed again as he moved toward Cody, eyes locking onto where Cody's would be visible if his helmet was off. Ahsoka didn't miss the way Obi-Wan tensed in concern.
Grievous inspected Cody for a few seconds before he huffed aloud and moved on, turning his attention back to the Neimodian Doctor.
"And what of the addition to this weapon Doctor? Have you had any success in that regard?"
"There is only one way to find out, General. I require a test subject."
"Then it is convenient that we have several here to choose from, isn't it now?" Grievous replied as he turned once again, his golden eyes surveying the Jedi. Through the Force Ahsoka felt a spark of terror rush through Caleb's Force signature. Ahsoka was about to reach out to try and comfort him with her own signature before she felt Depa beat her to it.
Grievous began to move towards the ray shields once again, his eyes moving between herself, Obi-Wan, Depa and Caleb, as if trying to decide who to use as a 'test subject'.
Part of Ahsoka wanted him to choose her, just so that the others would not suffer… but at the same time she really did not want to lose her connection to the Force, if that was even what would actually happen. For all she knew the General and his Neimodian Doctor were lying about the true nature of the weapon.
"Such a shame Skywalker could not be here today really. I hear he is quite strong in the Force. He would have been an excellent candidate, wouldn't you say Kenobi?" Grievous spoke menacingly as he looked directly at Obi-Wan. Of course Grievous would choose Obi-Wan! He hated the Jedi Master's guts!
"I'm glad he's not here." Was all Obi-Wan said in response, his tone confident and accepting of his fate. Ahsoka knew he'd put up a fight of course. Obi-Wan would never go down easily.
"Cool your anger Kenobi, you are not my target, not today." Grievous replied as he moved away from Obi-Wan… and towards the ray shield that was around Depa Billaba.
"No! Master!"
"Lower this ray shield Doctor."
"Of course General."
Despair flooded Ahsoka as she helplessly watched the ray shield around Depa fade away. The Jedi Master ignited her lightsaber instantly in an attempt to defend herself but it was quickly knocked aside by a single stroke from one of Grievous' stolen sabers. The hilt flew across the room and out of sight.
Ahsoka watched as Grievous grasped hold of both of Depa's arms, lifting her into the air and subduing her, all whilst Caleb screamed for him Master, hands crashing against the ray shield around him in a desperate attempt to free himself. Cody likewise did the same, bashing the shield with the butt of his rifle in a vain attempt to escape. It was no use however. Ray shields were next to impenetrable. The only thing that could free them was…
Rex… or Artoo!
Glancing around the room, Ahsoka spotted the astromech, hidden behind a crate, peeping out, watching. He hadn't been spotted… not yet. But how? Grievous had been waiting for them… hadn't he?
Ahsoka saw the astromech slowly rock back and forth on his legs, as if asking if he should help. She shook her head quickly in response. No use endangering him.
That left their only hope as Captain Rex. Reaching forward on her armor to the commlink embedded in her wrist, she gently and discretely tapped a single button, sending an alert to Rex's own commlink.
Hopefully he would see it and be able to help.
Turning her attention back to the commotion before her, Ahsoka watched as Grievous slammed Depa down onto a table, keeping her restrained with all four of his arms. Ahsoka was impressed that Depa was resisting him so much that the General was forced to rely on all of his arms.
But in the end, it mattered little. Grievous managed to successfully restrain her, exposing her neck as the Neimodian Doctor approached, injector in his hand.
"Find peace with the Force, Master Jedi… for this is the last time you will ever feel it!"
And with those words, the Doctor inserted the injector into a vein.
Captain Rex vaulted backwards to avoid the strike from the Magnaguard before him, twirling a captured electrostaff in his hands as he deflected a series of strikes from the Magnaguard's own staff with precision.
Rex had never really been one for hand to hand combat, aside from the standard training and sparring matches against his brothers, Ahsoka, and at times, Anakin. He could fight, and he could fight well of course, but Rex preferred the safety that he felt was offered by his twin blaster pistols over anything else. Those pistols were his equivalent of a lightsaber to a Jedi.
And as General Kenobi was fond of saying to his former Padawan and Grand-Padawan… that weapon was their life.
Still, that didn't mean Rex hadn't had training for this very situation. He recalled one day, early in the Clone War, encountering a squad of droids led by a Magnaguard out on some distant world he couldn't remember the name of. It had been him, Jesse, Kix, Hardcase and Ahsoka versus those droids.
In the midst of it, Rex had been the one to destroy the Magnaguard when it had Ahsoka pinned against a rock, and she had rewarded him the droids electrostaff as a gift. Apparently it was a Togruta custom or something. Rex honestly hadn't given it much thought at the time.
Still, he kept the staff, and had trained with it a few times, often by sparring with Ahsoka, her lightsabers set on lower power mode. It had helped both of them improve, Ahsoka more than Rex, for which the Clone Captain was pleased. These days Ahsoka could solo a Magnaguard with ease. She was no longer the brash fourteen year old shiny… but an experienced Commander and Jedi.
Well… former Jedi. He didn't know how important that aspect was in the grand scheme of things, and that honestly terrified him more than death itself. He hoped it would be enough to make a difference.
Evading again to the side, Rex struck out with the captured electrostaff from the first fallen Magnaguard, one who had been taken down by a well placed shot from Commander Grey.
The tip of Rex's staff collided with the Magnaguard's arm, causing it to stumble from the electric energy that coursed through its body suddenly, before it attempted to counter with an attack of its own.
The damage had been done however. The Magnaguard overshot its attack, leaving its side exposed as it lunged, something that Rex took advantage of without hesitation.
Bringing the staff round, Rex swung upwards, clipping the droid's chest and sending it reeling backwards before he followed up with a sharp lunge.
The electrostaff shot forward and impaled the Magnaguard, discharging electricity around it's body and short circuiting it's systems seconds later.
Releasing his hold on the now embedded electrostaff, Rex watched as the Magnaguard fell forward, destroyed.
'One less super clanker.' Rex thought as he moved his hands down to re-equip his twin blaster pistols as he moved to rejoin several of his brothers, who were pinned behind some rubble from the ongoing battle.
"What's our status Commander?" Rex asked Grey, who pushed his arm forward as he threw a thermal detonator over the cover and into the midst of a group of battledroids.
"All looks good Captain. We should be at the generator to this damn shield shortly. Resistance is definitely increasing though."
Rex had expected that. There was no way the clankers were gonna just lay down and let the Republic forces win. They'd fight to the last droid.
Rex was about to reply to Grey's statement when his commlink beeped suddenly. It wasn't an incoming transmission in the traditional sense, but it was a message, and one that he already knew who it was from.
Ahsoka.
Turning his head to Ridge, he gestured to his commlink on his wrist. Ridge followed Rex's gaze before he too saw the steady pulsing red light on his wrist comm.
"Grey, you guys go ahead. Ridge and I have got to go and support the Generals!"
"Copy that Rex." Grey responded immediately, understanding the gravity of the situation. If Ahsoka was calling for help, that meant they were in trouble.
It meant they needed rescuing, and Rex would sooner die than let her come to harm.
"With me Ridge." Rex spoke to the trooper as he turned from the frontline and began to sprint back to the doorway where he had last seen the Jedi strike team, Ridge hot on his heels.
Ahsoka watched as General Grievous released Depa Billaba, her body collapsing to the floor with a harsh thud. She was still conscious, and alive, but something was different. Very very different.
Depa began to push herself up slowly and steadily, clearly in a lot of pain when Grievous delivered a harsh kick to her stomach, knocking her back to the floor, hands clutching her stomach in agony.
"MASTER! GET UP!" Caleb cried in desperation from behind his ray shield, hands crashing against the shield constantly.
Grievous cackled as he stared down at Depa for a few moments before he turned back to the Neimodian scientist, his clawed hand moving to take the injector that had previously been used on Depa. The fluid that had been within the injector was now gone, instead replaced by a thick red liquid that Ahsoka assumed was Depa's blood! Why had they taken a blood sample?
It was then that it struck Ahsoka. The fluid within the injector! It was now within Depa's bloodstream. That meant…
Reaching out through the Force, Ahsoka gasped.
Depa was gone. Her Force signature, normally so bright and cheerful, with an undercurrent of darkness from her past experiences, was just gone. Not muted… not closed off. It was completely gone.
The Force had left her! The weapon had worked!
Grievous cackled again as he examined the injector, now full of Depa's blood as he moved towards the still screaming Jedi Padawan, his golden eyes full of glee.
Ahsoka tensed, just as Cody and Obi-Wan did as Grievous approached the young Padawan, bending his neck downwards so that he could stare eye to eye with the boy.
"Tell me Padawan… how does it feel? Can you sense your precious Master now?"
Caleb's screaming had ceased as the General had approached, a look of terror and dread, mixed with hate and anger covering his expression instead. Ahsoka wanted to reach out and comfort him, both physically and mentally, but she couldn't, not right now.
"Look at this Padawan. This injector, the vial within… this is all your Master ever was! The Force is a fickle thing after all, It can be contained. It can be controlled. And it can be manipulated with ease. You lose, Jedi!"
Caleb's expression only got angrier as he stared at the cyborg General. Ahsoka could feel the Padawan's desire to kill Grievous boiling over. She shared the sentiment of course, but she wouldn't do it out of anger. That would be a mistake.
"It's an injector of blood! Hardly what makes a Jedi, a Jedi!" Cody spat out with venom, diverting Grievous attention away from the boy and towards him.
The cyborg General chuckled harshly as he approached Cody, standing to his full height as he proudly displayed the injector not only to Cody, but to all of them. Behind the General, Ahsoka could see the Neimodian scientist bouncing with glee.
"This is far more than just a blood sample you puppet. After all, do the Jedi not believe that it is the Midi-chlorian count of a biological lifeform that determines just how strong they are in the Force, as well as how well they are able to manipulate it?"
Ahsoka had never really paid much attention to the concept of Midi-chlorians herself. She knew about them thanks to lessons within the Temple as a youngling, but it was never something that had stuck with her as gospel. After all, why should it only be those who had a higher count that were given more power and responsibility within the Order? Were those who had smaller counts less important?
'Is that why the Council was so quick to cast me aside? Do I have a very low count or something?'
"Midi-chlorians might be partially responsible for our powers, but they are not a means to an end. It takes years of training and patience to control the Force." Obi-Wan explained, trying to draw Grievous attention away from both Cody and Caleb.
Grievous laughed again as his golden eyes moved to Kenobi, injector full of the sample of Depa's blood still on show.
"Yes… but without those Midi-chlorians, a Jedi is no Jedi at all! The serum we just injected was created by the Ysalamir to purposely target Midi-chlorians and neutralize them! However…"
The 'however' made a chill run down Ahsoka's spine. She really didn't like the sound of that!
'Come on Rex! Where are you?!'
Grievous turned away from the ray shielded Jedi and moved back towards the Neimodian, offering him the injector, before moving to sit on what looked like a medical table.
"However, when you combine it with research taken from a certain Sith relic," Grievous' eyes shifted to Ahsoka for a brief moment, and she could've sworn he would have smirked if he could. "The entire process can be reversed, as I am about to demonstrate!"
Ahsoka didn't understand. Reversed? How? Did he mean that he could grant Depa her Force sensitivity back… or did he…
No.
No! Surely not?!
"Doctor, are you ready to begin the procedure?" Grievous spoke, addressing the Neimodian alone, his captives forgotten for the meantime.
"I am General, though I harbor reservations about this. You have had such transfusions before and it yielded no results. What makes you so sure it will work this time?"
With every word that came out of the doctor's mouth, Ahsoka's feeling of dread grew. Were they really about to try what she thought they were about to try?
Judging by the ashen look on Obi-Wan's face, he was clearly thinking the same thing.
"Our previous attempts failed because they were just simple transfusions Doctor, as you said! This time we have nothing so basic! I am no Sith, but their alchemy and control over the Force is potent. Count Dooku's research will yield the results I need. Now… commence the transfusion!"
"Yes General Grievous."
With those words, the Supreme Commander of the Confederacy of Independent Systems laid back on the table, facing the ceiling. From where she and the others were standing, they couldn't see exactly what was going on, but she could make out enough.
The Neimodian Doctor moved around the lab, bringing various bits of equipment to where the General rested, mumbling to himself in the process. Ahsoka was no medic, but she could tell one of them was a blood transfusion kit.
"Obi-Wan? Do you think that it'll work?" Ahsoka whispered over at the Jedi Master, who had both a fascinated, yet terrified look on his face.
"I cannot say without a look at the research they speak of. I hope not… but if it does succeed…"
"We will be in very serious trouble Sir!" Cody finished for them, hands still tightly gripping his blaster, despite not being able to do anything about the situation.
Ahsoka glanced down at Depa's still prone form. She was unconscious still, but alive as well. Ahsoka thanked the Force for that yet again.
Moving her head to the side, she spotted Artoo, still hidden behind the same set of crates as before. Maybe… with the General and his Doctor distracted…
As discreetly as she could, Ahsoka made a few small gestures with one of her hands towards the astromech, a signal to find a way to shut off the ray shields.
Artoo's dome nodded once in understanding. He would do what he could.
Turning her attention back to the procedure before her, Ahsoka witnessed the Neimodian inject the blood sample taken from Depa into a tube, before bringing said tube towards Grievous form.
"Stay calm now General. This might cause agitation given your cybernetic form."
"I care little for agitation Doctor. Inject at will."
The Doctor did as he was commanded.
Ahsoka watched as the red blood drained from the tube, entering into Grievous' system. She didn't know much about his cybernetic form, other than the fact that the majority of his flesh body was gone and replaced by cybernetic enhancements, if you could call them that, but it was clear that somewhere in that shell he still had vital organs.
Organs that would require blood of some kind to function. The question was what sort of blood? Surely Kaleesh would be better? Would he perhaps have a negative reaction to human blood?
Some deep dark part of her hoped he did. It would be a fitting end of the General if it happened.
"It will take a few moments to fully transfer into your system General. Your organs might reject the blood due to the species barrier."
"No such thing will happen Doctor. My form was created to accept transfusions of any species blood."
'Kriff!' Ahsoka thought! There went that dream!
Several tense moments of silence passed by before they ended, and ended harshly.
Grievous jerked suddenly on the table, a groan of what sounded like pain or discomfort escaping him.
His body jerked again, clearly having some sort of fit! Perhaps his organs were rejecting the blood after all!
And then, just as quickly as the jerking had started, it stopped, and Grievous fell both silent and motionless.
The heart rate monitor that the doctor had set up suddenly flat-lined, and Ahsoka had to resist the urge to cheer!
Her urge to cheer was spoiled moments later. The heart rate had returned with a steady beep… and Grievous began to rise.
Suddenly, Ahsoka was hit by a harsh, raw and unfiltered presence in the Force. It felt like Depa Billaba, but wrong. It was corrupted, twisted, dark!
And it was coming from Grievous!
"Impossible." Ahsoka heard Obi-Wan whisper as he too felt the sudden shift in the Force. Caleb too had his hands to his head, fighting the pain he was no doubt suffering for very different reasons.
Ahsoka was no expert when it came to science. Frankly, it bored her. But even still, she knew this shouldn't be possible! Grievous was more machine than Kaleesh! How could the Force flow through him?!
The General continued to rise, pushing up off of the table he had been laying on and placing his clawed feet upon the ground.
The General swayed for a few brief moments as his golden eyes widened, the Force swimming around him in a volatile nature.
Ahsoka said nothing. What could she say? This whole situation was…
It was wrong… just wrong!
Grievous moved one of his hands upwards, his eyes staring at the metal claws for several moments before he reached out, palm facing towards a random piece of medical equipment that had been left on a worktop.
Nothing happened to begin with, and Ahsoka found that she was holding her breath.
'Please… just please… don't!' Ahsoka's mind begged. If the procedure had worked…
The medical equipment shuddered suddenly, wobbling in place as Grievous' open palm continued to face it. Ahsoka felt the Force twist and convulse in an attempt to deny it's wielder's orders… and then, it gave in.
The equipment flew off the table…
And into Grievous' waiting hand.
The General's eyes widened in surprise yet again, before he released a series of harsh cackles at his success.
At that, Ahsoka felt the pit that had been growing in her stomach get even deeper at the new revelation.
General Grievous was Force sensitive!
Author's thoughts
Soooooo... talk about exposition, revelations and a plot twist huh?
This was a chapter I had planned from the very beginning. I codenamed this chapter 'Make Grievous a badass again' in my outline, because frankly, after the way he was treated in Clone Wars and ROTS, he deserved to become a badass again! And what better way than to literally make him a Force user.
Now... I know some of you hardcore fans (and midi-chlorians haters) will most likely despise this chapter for it's massive breach in science and general Force knowledge... and that's fine. We are all entitled to our opinions, and you aren't wrong to be so. That said, I wanted to try something unique, and attempted to give it the best possible explanation I could so it seemed feasible, if only slightly. Love it or loathe it, it makes no odds to me. :)
If you have any questions regarding this chapter and the twist, feel free to ask, either here or over on my Tumblr (under the same username)
Now, as you can imagine, this twist is going to have some ramifications down the line, especially considering how close we are to ROTS. In regards to just how powerful Grievous has become, you'll have to wait and see next chapter I guess. XD
Thanks once again to my beta reader 'ArrinSnyders' for all his hard work.
Next time round, Grievous displays his newfound power, with devastating consequences.
As usual, comment and speculate at will. Speaking of which:
NessaRoseFangirl: Really?! Wow! Thank you very much for the kind words! I'm really happy that you have enjoyed the story thus far, and I hope you are excited to see where it goes from this point onward.
Getting the characters right was key to this story, so if you think I've succeeded, then that means the world to me, so thank you very much. XD
Dream Plane: It was indeed a trap! Surprise surprise! I bet no one saw that one coming! XD
The battle scenes were thrilling? Really? Cool! Thanks! I honestly think I suck at writing battle scenes personally, but if you enjoyed them, then that's good enough for me. XD
the Mandalorian terminator: Thanks! I appreciate the kind words about the battle scenes. Hope you like the battle when it comes! XD
Triglavian: Sorry. I like responding to those who take the time to comment on my work, as well as give them an insight to the story.
tf330129: Doing my best. :)
Cat-Gods-Of-The-Cat-People: I appreciate that. I try and get them up so I don't keep you guys waiting too long, but I don't want to post something that isn't 100% if that makes sense. No point in rushing it. I've been at this story 2 years now after all. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. XD
1saaa: Seriously?! You typed them all? That's some commitment! I'm flattered you took the time! XD
No worries about the non-super long comment. I don't expect them. I'm happy enough to see one or two words honestly. Hope you liked how this chapter went. XD
Darth Zyn: You are welcome for the update, and I'm glad the sense of tension worked! I love writing moments like those where you know what's going to happen, but don't at the same time. XD
Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. May The Force Be With You as well! XD
RyanSquad: I think they mostly forgot about Appo in the show unfortunately, which is a shame considering he ends up leading half of the 501st! Rest assured though, there will be some Ahsoka and Appo interaction later on in this story. There is a very important scene later on with both of them in.
Anakin is no doubt sulking indeed for being left out of the action. I don't think he's missing much though, do you? XD
And yeah... Jesse got hit... but he's fine. He's a tough old clone.
Hope the weight wasn't too painful this time round. XD