"aaaa" - talking through a holocomunicator or comlink. aaaa - inner thoughts and Force Visions. 'aaaa' - talking through a bond.
AN: Thank you princesselsaamidala22 for your review of the last chapter and Mau123 for following this story!
I wasn't able to come up with an interlude to write after the two episodes of the Ryloth arc that I did, so I just decided to head straight into Season 2! I decided to skip the previous episode as Ahsoka would have been the one to get in trouble as Rosella had learned her lesson after her failed space battle over Ryloth.
In part 2 of the Holocron Arc, Anakin and Rosella are chasing after Cad Bane, who managed to break into the Jedi Temple and steal a holocron.
Chapter 12: Going After the Kyber Crystal
After returning from the Ryloth campaign in which Wat Tambor had been captured by Mace Windu, Rosella was forced to stay at the temple with Qui-Gon while Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka went to Felucia. She apparently had a few unfinished homework assignments that she had neglected to finish while she was recovering from the Blue Shadow Virus.
While Ahsoka was guarding the Jedi Archives, her punishment for disobeying orders when it came time for them to retreat, Bane and his accomplices managed to break into the Temple. After the whole ordeal was over, the bounty hunter managed to escape with a holocron while the shapeshifter who was working with Bane got arrested after Ahsoka had managed to beat her in a lightsaber fight.
As soon as the Clawdite told them who Bane was going after next, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka decided to stay on Coruscant to look for the bounty hunter while Anakin and Rosella went to go look for Master Ropal, who had been declared as missing in the Devaron system.
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Once the Resolute was in hyperspace, both Jedi were summoned to the briefing room. Once they arrived, Anakin saw that Obi-Wan and Ahsoka were waiting for them with not so happy expressions on their faces.
"I have some bad news for you both," Obi-Wan told them. Then he sighed. "Bane is nowhere to be found on Coruscant. My best guess is that he fled once he got what he needed which was the holocron."
Anakin's eyes narrowed at the news. He opened his mouth and then closed it as he bit back a Huttese curse. Turning around he left the room, striding onto the bridge.
Rosella watched as he left and then turned back to the hologram. "I know you and Ahsoka tried your best to stop him, Master Kenobi," she said. "I only hope that we can recover both the holocron and the crystal before Bane can combine them and deliver it to whomever he's working for."
"I hope so too young one," Obi-Wan responded. "May the Force be with you both."
Rosella bowed her head as their holograms disappeared.
The teenager sighed, turned around and walked onto the bridge.
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As soon as the Resolute arrived in the Devaron system, Anakin ordered the Venator to start firing on the nearest Separatist frigate as he realized that they were too late. Waiting for them was a small Separatist fleet that had been sent to blockade the planet and help Cad Bane flee the planet of Devaron, which was the last known location of Jedi Master Bolla Ropal.
Rosella stood with the Admiral at the communications booth as the clone who was operating it tried to get in contact with the base that the Republic had stationed on the planet. She didn't even have to reach out through the Force to get a sense of how Anakin was feeling. Just by glancing at him, she could tell that he was stiff and tense as he stood at the edge of the viewports with his arms crossed over his chest. She knew without having to look at his face that his eyes would be hard and unflinching as another Munificent-class star frigate exploded as a laser blast from their cannons hit it.
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"I guess we're going down with the ship," the droid who was in control of the rapidly spiralling out of control frigate said to his companion.
"Roger, roger," the second droid cried before he slid to the right and most likely was destroyed along with the rest of the ship.
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"General," Yularen said as he stepped out from where the small booth was. Anakin turned his head slightly as he listened to the Admiral. "We're receiving an incoming transmission from the planet."
Anakin narrowed his eyes again. He turned away from the battle and walked towards Yularen who had clasped his hands behind his back.
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The Resolute continued to fire its turbolasers, managing to take down another enemy ship as it made its way towards the planet.
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Rosella glanced at her father as he came over to where they were standing with a semi-worried expression on her face and saw that he had his hands clasped behind his back. R2 was standing in front of her. Yularen had moved over to her right and was standing on the other side of the trooper who had answered the call.
The trooper who was sitting at the small booth looked up at Anakin as he came near. The blue holo in front of him displayed a trooper who was desperately trying to keep the oncoming forces at bay. The holo flickered twice and then stabilized as the trooper fired his blaster a few more times before glancing at the transmitter on his end and addressing Anakin.
"General Skywalker, our base has been overrun by those damn clankers!" The trooper reported. Then he began to fire his blaster again. "I don't think we'll be able to evacuate everyone in time!" He then cried out in pain as he took a blast to the shoulder before continuing to shoot. "Bane and a few droids managed to take General Ropal and the holocron memory crystal!" A battle droid managed to make it into the range of the transmission and grab the end of the DC-15A blaster rifle. The trooper shoved the droid away and fired twice in the same direction.
"Do you know where they've taken them?" Anakin asked him urgently.
"I'm sorry sir," the trooper said. "We tried to stop them, but they left the outpost." Suddenly a battle droid grabbed him from behind and wrapped a metal arm around the man's throat, forcing his head to jerk upwards. The last thing that everyone heard was the cry from the trooper before the transmission disappeared.
"Wait a second," the trooper said as he did everything that he could to try and recover the transmission. "There's too much going on for me to be able to recover the signal." Then he sat back in his seat and looked up at Anakin. "It looks like the transmitter has been destroyed at the source, sir."
Anakin then looked up at Yularen as one of the officers in a grey uniform stood to his left. "We have to find out what ship Master Ropal is on."
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On one of the frigates, two super battle droids dragged Bolla Ropal's body down the hallway where the detention cells were located. The Rodian, who was also the Keeper of the Memory crystal, could feel the cool metal floor beneath his knees and two cold, unforgiving metal clawed hands that belonged to the droids as they brought the semi-unconscious Jedi Master to one of the interrogation cells, not caring at all when his head drooped to face the floor as his body didn't have enough strength to keep it upright.
When they reached the door to the cell, the droid on the left let go of Master Ropal's arm as the doorway was too small for both of the droids to fit through. His body slumped to the floor as it was dragged through the opening and down the steps, he barely felt any pain as his face smacked into the bottom step, with the other droid following behind them.
Master Ropal blinked as the droid who still had a hold of his arm, swung upwards and in one swift move, placed his body in the containment field with his arms and legs spread wide.
A B-1 battle droid stood at the control console that was in the right hand corner of the interrogation room. The Jedi Master somehow knew that the droid would no doubt be controlling not just the containment field, but he would also be keeping track of his bodily functions and the torture that was soon to come.
A pair of IG-100 MagnaGuards, those elite droids that Count Dooku often gifted his most trusted and valued allies flanked either side of the doorway. One of them walked towards him and activated its electrostaff as the weapon was raised in the air and jabbed right into Master Ropal's chest, causing the Rodian to jerk about and cry out as he was shocked.
Thankfully the electrocution was short and Master Ropal's head dropped down to his chest as he panted for air. The MagnaGuard stopped the torture and stepped back as the B1 took its place in front of the Jedi. "You will remain conscious, Master Jedi," the battle droid told him as it placed one of its metal hands on the Rodian's face, jerking it from side to side. "The bounty hunter wants to speak with you." The droid's metal hand let go of the Rodian's face and turned to the MagnaGuard. "I want you to attach mind limiters, pain pulsers and give him a full dose of X-C33."
The MagnaGuard nodded and said something.
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There were five battle droids on the bridge. Two of them had just entered the room while two more were standing in front of consoles on either side of the bridge. The fifth one was leaving, while one of them walked over to Bane, who was sitting in the Captain's seat, watching the battle play out in front of him.
"Uh, Sir?" The battle droid asked. Bane looked up from underneath the brim of his hat at the droid and then at the viewscreen in front of him. "That Republic ship has destroyed our escort and is blocking our escape."
The blue-skinned Duros leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms, placing his left hand on his chin as he said, "Whoever's commanding that cruiser is a bold one." Then he looked at the battle droid. "Move this frigate out of the battle zone and begin making the preparations for our jump to hyperspace." Then he sat up, placed his left hand on the armrest and looked directly at the viewscreen. "I have a couple of questions to ask our Jedi guest."
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Admiral Yularen looked up from the screen that he was looking at. He turned to Anakin who was looking out the window with his hands behind his back. "General," he said, looking back at the screen as he felt Anakin look in his direction. "One of the Separatist ships is trying to flee from the battle."
Rosella made it to her father's side as he turned away from the trapezoid-shaped window and stepped over to see what the Admiral and trooper were looking at. When they both saw the fleeing ship, the teenager looked up at him and asked, "Do you think they have Master Ropal on board as a prisoner?"
"He has to be there," Anakin replied as he had his arms crossed over his chest. "Why else would that ship be trying to flee?" Then he turned his attention to Yularen. "Admiral, intercept that ship and cut off their escape route. I'll prepare some of the troops for boarding."
"Boarding?" Yularen asked, sounding incredulous. "I happen to know that we don't have any boarding craft aboard this cruiser. We were prepared to land on the planet, not to board another ship! You can't be serious!"
"I am, Admiral. Thank you for your opinion. Now target their hyperdrive. We can't let whoever is on board get away," Anakin said.
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The Resolute closed in on the Separatist frigate and opened fire, managing to destroy one of its thrusters.
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"Sir! Captain! Sir!" A battle droid called as he ran down the hall in order to catch up to Bane, who was on his way to the Jedi's cell.
The bounty hunter, who had the holocron in his right hand, glanced over his shoulder and bit back a sigh as he saw the panicking battle droid running towards him. He slowed down, allowing the droid to catch up to him. "The Republic ship took out the power converters. We can't go into hyperspace."
"Hmm. I wonder what the Jedi are planning," Bane said.
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Anakin and Rosella made their way through the hanger. All around them, the clones were busy either moving some crates out of the way, standing in groups talking with each other or just walking through the room to get to their new destination.
Rex turned away from one of his men and looked at the pair of Jedi as they approached. "General, Commander," He said in greeting. "I've rounded up three brigades. Mind telling me where we're going?"
"We are going to board a Separatist frigate, rescue Master Ropal and recover an archive holocron," the Knight replied.
"We have no assault craft, sir. Only a couple of fighters and the Twilight," Rex said.
Anakin narrowed his eyes a little, his body going tense. After his earlier conversation with Yularen, he really didn't want to be reminded of the fact that they hadn't planned to board another craft. On their way down to the hanger, he had been trying to come up with a new plan, but nothing came to mind.
Rex straightened up as soon as he saw Anakin narrow his eyes. "Waiting for orders, sir," he said.
"And how exactly are we getting on board that ship?" Rosella asked as she glanced in her father's direction, watching as he turned to look at her with the same glare that he had given Rex. She could sense his emotions and knew that he wasn't angry, just a little irritated. "What? I just want to make sure you actually have a good plan this time." Then she shrugged her shoulders, knowing that her father's mild irritation would pass as soon as some wild and crazy idea popped into his head.
Anakin scanned the hanger in thought as he pushed away his mild sense of irritation, along with a tiny bit of frustration. He seemed to notice something on the far side of the room and a small smirk appeared on his face.
"I came down here to see if I could offer you any assistance in coming up with a plan, General," Yularen said.
Anakin's smirk grew a little as he turned to face the Admiral, knowing that the man probably wasn't going to like what he had come up with. "Perfect timing. I need those walkers activated, Admiral," he said as he turned his head and pointed towards three AT-TE's that were sitting on the far side of the room.
Rosella, along with Rex, followed his outstretched hand and saw what he was looking at.
"Please tell me that you are not thinking of using those to transport the clones, as well as the two of you, to that frigate," Yularen said.
"Well, they are pressurized…" Rosella said as she placed her left hand on her chin and tapped it, catching on to her father's plan.
Rex seemed to catch on as well. "Plus, they do have magnetic feet," he said. "That means they will be able to latch on to the outer hull of that ship and not come loose." Then he looked at Anakin. "Good call."
"Master, you're a genius." Rosella complimented, a smirk on her face.
"Those walkers are designed for terrain, not space!" Yularen exclaimed, already feeling the telltale signs of a headache beginning to form in his head.
Anakin looked at Yularen as he finished speaking. "I don't see how that is going to be a problem for us, Admiral," he said. Then he turned to look at his clone captain with a smirk on his face. "Rex, load 'em up." Glancing down at his apprentice, he motioned towards the walkers. "Come on Rosella!"
The teenager smiled and took off after her father as he ran towards the middle AT-TE.
Rex turned around and began issuing orders. "Execute Battalion, take AT-AT 300!" He said as he pointed to the AT-TE on the left. "Carnivore Battalion, Walker 773!" He pointed to the one on the right. "Let's go!"
Admiral Yularen turned around, made his way out of the hanger and headed back up to the bridge.
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The droid who was controlling the power for the containment field reached out and turned the dial to the right with one of its clawed hands, watching as the power on the screen climbed higher and higher.
Bane stood there. He held the holocron in his hand and watched as Master Ropal's body jerked back and forth within the confines of the field. He was not one of those beings who liked using torture as a way to get a prisoner to talk, especially if the scum was going to die in the end. But he needed the Jedi's help to unlock the holocron.
Listening as the Rodian cried out in pain, he said, "All you need to do is open up this little box that I have in my hand so I can gain access to whatever information is on the crystal that you had in your possession." Behind him, the droid turned down the power. "If you can accomplish that, your suffering will come to an end."
Master Ropal's body heaved up and down as he panted for air. His head hung down and his eyes were closed. Sensing that the bounty hunter was right in front of him, he said, "You will…never get…me to…unlock…the holocron."
"Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of time to discuss this with you," Bane said as he glared at the captive Jedi. He turned to look at the droid behind the console. "Hit him again, full power."
The droid nodded and reached for the dial, pushing the power towards its maximum limit. The Rodian's head jerked up as his body convulsed in pain as the electricity hit him again.
While Bane watched as the Jedi Master went through his latest round of torture, the battle droid who controlled the power left its post, came up behind him and said, "I'm not sure how much more of this he can take."
The bounty hunter glanced at the droid and asked, "What are you? A medical droid?"
"No, sir," the droid replied.
"Then go back to your post and shut up," Bane said.
"Roger, roger," the droid said as he walked back over to the controls.
"More power," the blue-skinned man demanded.
The droid complied and turned up the power, reaching the machine's limit as the humming grew louder. Master Ropal's body jerked back and forth and the pain grew so much that he couldn't even scream or moan. His hands spasmed, beginning to clench into fists before they suddenly uncurled and limply hung in the air as one last current of electricity shot out from the cuff and ran up his hand.
Bane scowled as he heard the Jedi cry out in pain one last time before falling completely silent. He waited while the droid whom he had just spoken to turned off the power and checked on the Jedi's vital signs. The Rodian's heartbeat was heard only once before it was replaced by a flat and toneless beep.
The droid looked up from the screen that it was looking at and said, "We've lost all his vital signs."
"Check him again," Bane said as he nodded his head towards the Rodian's body.
One of the MagnaGuards stepped forward, activated its staff and jabbed it into the Jedi's stomach.
Nothing happened.
The droid looked over his console again and said, "He is no longer functioning."
"Drop him," he ordered.
The droid pressed the red button on the console and a disengaging sound could be heard throughout the room as the magnetic field that was holding Master Ropal in place loosened, letting the Rodian fall after which a dull metallic thump was heard as the body hit the floor.
The droid stepped out from around the console and walked forward with a datapad in one of its clawed hands. It knelt beside the Jedi and scanned him one final time before looking up towards Bane, saying, "He's dead."
"It looks like we will have to find another Jedi to open this holocron," Bane said as he looked at the blue and gold box in his left hand. "Only next time, I will try a different method." He ran a hand along the edge of his hat before turning around and leaving the cell. The MagnaGuard, battle droid and both of the B2's that were waiting outside the cell followed him as they left Master Ropal's body behind.
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Aboard the Resolute, a light turned green.
Rosella stood on top of one of the AT-TE's, dressed in a red spacesuit. She was wearing a helmet. R2 was standing right behind her. On the other side of the main gun stood Anakin, who was dressed in his Jedi robes and also wearing a helmet.
The hangar door opened up beneath their AT-TE.
Two B-1 battle droids who were outside working on something looked up in surprise, well as much surprise as a droid could muster, as three Republic AT-TE's were dropped onto the frigate. As soon as the AT-TE's landed, their metal feet immediately locked onto the surface of the frigate and started firing.
Both droids didn't wait for their new orders. They turned around and ran as they were smart enough to realize that they were outnumbered.
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Bane, who was once again sitting in the captain's seat on the bridge, looked down at the hologram of Nute Gunray that was being projected from the holocaster that a battle droid was holding in its metal hand.
"When Darth Sidious asked me to lend you a few ships from the Federation fleet, he did not tell me that you were going to war!" Gunray nearly exclaimed. "From what I understand, four of my ships have been destroyed under your command. I do hope that you have enough credits to pay me for these losses!"
"Do not worry Viceroy," Bane responded as he took out the holocron from where he kept it tucked away and held it up for the Neimoidian to see. "I have one authentic Jedi holocron in my possession and the memory crystal I was after." He held up the crystal in his other hand, then tossed it in the air and caught it. "Once my benefactor gets the information that is stored in this holocron, he will compensate you for your puny fleet."
The ship gave a sudden jerking movement as it shook back and forth, causing Bane to stumble a little. He looked around before smiling a little. "Sounds like the Jedi want it back," he said.
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The three AT-TE's kept moving forward, firing at the frigate and a few vulture droids that had appeared to try and stop them from getting inside the ship. Both Jedi were standing on the lead walker with their lightsabers in hand and the blades ignited. Anakin watched as the main gun fired on the ship. Then three more vulture droids suddenly appeared and started firing at them as they landed on the hull, their wings becoming the legs that they stood on.
Both Jedi started deflecting the red lasers that came at them before Anakin jumped off the surface of their AT-TE and Rosella followed him a moment later. As soon as Anakin landed in front of the vulture droids, he lashed out at the one on the left, slicing off one of its wings.
Rosella landed a few minutes after he did and deflected a blaster bolt that flew off into space. She saw her father deflect two blaster bolts back at the droid on the left and then deflected two of her own as the droid on the right fired at her. Anakin dropped down and spun around as he sliced through the right wing of the droid before using the Force to push it backwards. As he finished with his task, Rosella ran at the droid on the left and leapt up onto the right wing. As the teenager jumped off the wing and maneuvered towards the middle of the droid, she lashed out and sliced through it, making the droid explode.
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Another battle droid came up to Bane as he was in the middle of his conversation with Gunray. "Pardon the interruption Captain, but the Jedi and their troopers have landed on our frigate and are currently defeating our vulture droids," he said, holding onto his blaster. "Should we send out reinforcements?"
"No," Bane responded.
"Bane, what are you doing?" The Viceroy asked.
"Did you say, no?" The droid asked.
"Mmm-hmm," Bane said.
"Roger, roger," the droid said as he walked away.
"Bane. Those Jedi are going to board that ship and do everything that they can in order to get that holocron back!" Gunray told him. "Send me the information so that we may be finished with our deal!"
"I'm afraid that's not possible," Bane responded as he narrowed his eyes in a slight glare at the holo. "You see, I don't have the information yet. In order to get it, the holocron that I have in my hand must be combined with the memory crystal. But I need a Jedi to help me open the device." He looked up at the viewscreen that he was standing in front of and smirked, knowing full well that Gunray couldn't see it. "Fortunately, there are two Jedi on their way to help me."
"You'd better live through this," Gunray said. "I want my money, Bane."
"You'll get your money," Bane responded.
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Rex, along with some of his men who had disembarked from one of the other two AT-TE's and were making their way over to him, caught up to Anakin and Rosella. The Captain, who had already taken both of his DC-17 blaster pistols out of their holsters, was firing at something ahead of him. Dodging another laser bolt, he fired the pistol that was in his right hand and took out the last remaining battle droid that was on the outside of the frigate.
"R2!" Anakin called as he and Rosella space walked over to a small airlock.
The blue and white astromech beeped and whistled as he flew through the air to the panel that was beside the airlock. Both Jedi held their lightsabers in guard positions as R2 got to work.
The door slid open and the Jedi, as well as Rex and his brethren, jumped in, dropping to the floor below. After Anakin and Rosella had removed their helmets and the clones were all inside the ship, they took off towards the bridge while cutting down any droids who were in their way.
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Bane stormed through the bridge, pointing to one of three battle droids as he barked out a set of commands. Two of the droids were sitting in chairs and working away at a pair of consoles while the third, who was the one in charge of all the droids, was just standing there. "Wipe all the frigate's memory banks and destroy every record of our mission," he said. Then he turned around and pointed at another battle droid. "Initiate this vessel's self-destruct sequence." Looking at the droid with yellow markings on its head and body, he reached out, grabbed its metal arm and shoved it, watching as the droid took a few steps back and sat down on a chair that was occupied by one of its fellow droids. "You! Transfer all the functions of this ship to my wrist com immediately." He tapped the large metal gauntlet that was locked around his right wrist. "I want to have control over the doors, gravity generators, everything."
The command droid stood up and replied, "Roger, roger."
Bane turned around as he said, "The rest of you, stay here and defend the bridge." Then he walked away.
One of the droids who had been walking around came running up to the commander and asked, "We're defending the bridge alone?"
"Against the Jedi?" The seated droid asked. "I hate this job."
Bane made his way over to a chute, kicked it open and jumped inside it, getting away. One of the droids bent down, looked at the chute and then straightened up as the door to the bridge was breached and smoke filled the room. All the droids who had been left behind looked up as they saw two blue lightsabers being ignited.
Rex and his vod immediately started firing their weapons. One of the droids who had been permitted to keep his weapon with him fired a shot that missed the entire Republic group and sailed right into a wall. Luckily that droid was one of the first to get destroyed by one of the men. Another droid fired his blaster. His laser also ended up missing the group. A third droid ended up firing twice and not one of his lasers made contact with the group either.
Anakin ran in, taking down one of the droids as he sliced through its waist, then another and finally a third one. As he stopped moving, he twirled his saber around and held it upright in a guard position as he glanced around and saw that Rosella, Rex and the other clones had taken down the remaining droids except for the four who were at the front.
"Wait! Don't shoot!" One of the four remaining droids cried out as he threw up his hands in surrender. "I'm not the commander!" He pointed to the droid who was standing beside him. "He's the commander!"
One of the clones walked up to Anakin's left and shot the droid as another clone walked up to Anakin's right and had his blaster aimed and ready to fire.
"Guess I'm the commander now," the droid said.
The same clone who had shot the other droid, fired two more shots, taking out the droid. The clone who had come up on Anakin's right dashed forward and took care of one of the droids who were still sitting in the seats typing away at the consoles.
"R2, plug into that port and see if you can find Master Ropal," Anakin told his astromech.
The droid beeped and got to work as Rex walked over to the pair. Both Jedi deactivated their lightsabers as R2 projected a hologram into the air.
It was Bane. "One authentic Jedi holocron and the memory crystal I was after," he said.
"This is not good!" Rosella said worriedly. "Now that he has both the crystal and the holocron, all he has to do is find some way to combine them together." Then she looked at her father and Rex.
"Rex, I want you to take a squad and go lock down the hanger bay. Destroy all the escape pods that are on board. No one is leaving this ship," Anakin ordered.
"Yes, sir," the captain replied, saluting before signalling all but two clones to follow.
"R2, we need you to locate Master Ropal. Quickly!" Rosella urgently told the droid as Anakin placed his lightsaber back on his belt.
R2 beeped in response.
As Rex and his squad were about to make their way out of the room, the ship shook, making a few of the clones stumble a little.
"What was that?" He asked as his men frantically turned their heads around, trying to find the source and figure out just what it was.
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Admiral Yularen watched from where he was standing as the frigate nearly listed to one side as an explosion ripped through one of the engines, causing a few smaller ones to go off as well. He knew that Anakin and his team would have felt the explosion, but felt the need to let him know exactly where it had originated from. Reaching down, he pressed the button that would patch him through to Anakin's wrist communicator.
"General," he said, "one of the engines on that frigate has exploded and caused some damage to the ship. I caution you to avoid the aft section."
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Rosella, R2 and Anakin were still standing on the bridge. He raised his right arm and responded, "Thanks for the head's up Admiral. How much damage has there been?"
"Enough to suggest that you and the rest of the boarding party should evacuate immediately," Yularen replied.
"Not until we get what we came for," Anakin said. Then he lowered his arm as he terminated the connection.
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"Spread out," Bane commanded his remaining forces as they had retreated to one of the rooms aboard the frigate. He took a step backwards, causing the entire group of B1 and B2 droids to do the same. "While you take on the clones, I will separate the Jedi and lead one of them away."
Then he walked away.
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Rex, along with the squad that he had taken with him, had finished their task. On their way back to the bridge, they came across Anakin and Rosella who were heading to the detention level to check all the cells to see if they could locate Master Ropal as that was where R2 had pinpointed him to be.
Like any Separatist frigate, the detention level was a long corridor lined with doors on either side. The warning lights were still glowing red, as they had been ever since two B2 droids had dragged Master Ropal's body down it on their way to one of the cells.
This lighting color is very creepy. Rosella thought to herself as she walked away from yet another empty cell. The young padawan wasn't a huge fan of detention levels, not even republic ones as she dimly remembered what had happened aboard the Tranquility, the cruiser that belonged to Master Luminara Unduli.
The teenager knew that the men and her father were behind her, checking the cells near the entrance to the area.
She made her way to another cell and held up one of her hands towards the door. She could feel something through the force as if there was someone in the cell, but whoever was in there had no vital signs. Reaching over to the panel, she pressed the button that controlled the door, watching as it slid upwards with a hiss. As she stepped forward, her hazel eyes widened in shock at what she saw inside the cell.
"Master!" Rosella called out, a small bit of sadness in her voice. "I found him." Closing her eyes as she tried to banish what she had just seen from her mind; she lowered her head as she heard Anakin's footsteps rushing over to her side. Opening her eyes, she glanced over and saw that he was looking at what she saw.
Master Ropal's body was sprawled on the floor where he had been dumped. The magnetic cuffs were still wrapped around his wrists as well as his ankles and his tongue was sticking out of his mouth.
The Knight reached over and wrapped an arm around Rosella's shoulders as he took the sadness and light fear that drifted across their bond and cast it out into the force. Then he removed his arm from around her shoulders and turned to look at Rex who had come up behind them. "Rex, pick a few of your men to take Master Ropal's body back to the Resolute. We have to deliver his body to the Temple for a proper burial," he said.
"I'll get right on it, General," Rex told him.
"Master, you do realize that this ship is falling apart, right?" Rosella asked. "We might not find the holocron and the crystal in time. If they get destroyed with the ship, Gunray or whomever Bane is working for won't be getting them either."
"Maybe," Anakin responded, "but I'd rather recover both pieces and take them back to the Temple. The holocron will be returned to the archives while the crystal will be handed over to the Jedi Council."
Rosella had a look of uncertainty on her face that disappeared as the frigate shook again and the lights went out, making the corridor seem as cold and dark as the cell. Then the teenager took a step forward and bent down as she placed a hand on top of R2's domed head. "Come on, Artoo," she said. Standing up, she walked ahead as she heard the blue and white droid beep and switch on its searchlight.
Anakin stayed behind for a minute with Rex as the Captain nodded to a pair of troopers who walked into the cell and retrieved the Rodian's body. Then after making sure the troopers were on their way to the hanger that they had secured earlier, they both turned around and caught up with Rosella, R2 and the rest of their men.
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The group, minus the two troopers who were in charge of handling Master Ropal's body, were making their way down another pitch-black corridor when R2 beeped again. Even though they were using R2's searchlight to help them see where they were going, both Anakin and Rosella had taken their lightsabers from their belts and ignited them for some extra light.
"R2 says we're close," Anakin said. "Stay sharp."
The teenager glanced to her left and suddenly ducked to avoid a pipe that she would have hit her head on as they passed through the open doorway.
Rex was right behind them, but didn't see the pipe and banged his head on it. "Ow!" He said. Then he turned to the rest of his men. "I want everyone to switch to night-vision." He watched as the men pulled down their attached macro-binoculars that would allow them to see clearly in the dark before tugging down his smaller rangefinder. Then he turned around and kept moving,
As they were walking down the dimly lit corridor, the only sounds they could hear were their feet and the humming of both Anakin's and Rosella's lightsabers. R2 let out a worried beep. A few seconds later, a blur of brown, black, and hints of blue ran past them. R2 couldn't help it and let out a startled beep, along with a few whistles.
"Over there!" Anakin said, shifting his saber to his right hand as he took off after the bounty hunter.
Rosella, Rex, who reached back and withdrew one of his pistols from its holster, R2 and the rest of the troopers ran after him.
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As Bane ran down another hallway, he smirked as he could hear the footsteps of the Jedi and their troopers as they chased him. As he reached an intersection, the bounty hunter came to a stop. Pressing a button on his gauntlet, he darted through the open doorway into the pitch-black room.
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Anakin, Rosella, Rex, their men and R2 made their way into the room and came to a stop. It was very dark and quiet. Even with the help of both lightsabers, it was still hard to see. As the door behind them swiftly closed, cutting off their escape, both Jedi got ready to face whatever it was that was coming their way.
Suddenly, rows and rows of lights began to turn on one by one, the sound ringing throughout the room. With each new row of lights, the darkness faded. In front of them stood row after row of battle droids and super battle droids. At the head of it all, staring at them was Cad Bane, the intruder who had broken into the Temple. The room that they were in looked like it was some sort of gunnery room as all around them were artillery shells and other machines.
"Welcome, Jedi. As you can no doubt see for yourselves, the droids and I have been expecting you," Bane said.
Behind both Jedi, Rex and his men got ready to take on Bane and his army of droids.
Bane took out his blaster, aimed it in front of him and yelled, "Kill them!"
The droids opened fire on the group as they marched towards them. While the clones reciprocated by firing their own weapons, both Anakin and Rosella stood there, deflecting every single shot that came their way. Then the Jedi ran towards the bounty hunter as he fired his weapon at them. Anakin deflected most of the blasts that came his way.
"Let's make this a bit more interesting, shall we," Bane said as he lowered his blaster, turned his right arm towards him and pressed a button on the gauntlet that covered his wrist, hearing his magnetic boots lock down onto the floor of the hangar. "Lock it down metal heads!" He looked up as he pressed another button on the metal device.
As Anakin and Rosella raced towards the bounty hunter, they suddenly rose up off the ground. The blond-haired padawan floundered around in alarm before realizing that she was floating in the air. Glancing around, she saw that everyone else, well except for Bane and his droids, was floating as well.
As Bane fired his blaster in Anakin's direction, the Knight quickly used his lightsaber to deflect the blasts.
One of the clones noticed that he and the rest of his vod had almost reached the ceiling. Then he got an idea. "Switch on your magnet boots men!" He called out. "Just like in training!"
Rex heard the call and magnetized his boots as he reached out and grabbed onto the side of a rack that contained a bunch of artillery shells. Landing on the side of one of the enemy walkers, he held on with his left hand and continued to fire with his right hand, managing to take down two droids.
"R2!" Rosella called out as she used the Force to flip around and deflect an incoming blaster bolt with her lightsaber. "Go turn the gravity generators back on!" The droid gave an affirmative beep before activating his rocket jets and flying forward. The teenager turned around and quickly deflected another bolt that was headed in her direction.
A trooper who was using a chain gun managed to flip around and activate his magnet boots, tethering himself to the ceiling. Even though the blue and white armored man was upside-down, he immediately started blasting away at the droids.
Bane continued to fire at Anakin who deflected all of the laser blasts that came his way. The Knight propelled himself forward and attempted to slash the bounty hunter, only to miss when he ducked, managing to slice a battle droid in half.
Bane turned away from Anakin and quickly spotted one of the few clones who had yet to turn on his magnetized boots. Quickly aiming his blaster, he fired three shots into the air. The first two completely missed and hit the wall, but the third one hit the trooper in the neck, causing Rosella to turn around and stare in shock at what happened as a fourth shot was fired, which struck the now dead clone in the back.
The clone upside down on the top of the room firing his chain gun shot a droid, causing it to fly backwards into a rack of artillery shells. The droid fell down the line and accidentally hit the shell at the bottom, causing it to come loose and begin drifting through the air
"Check your fire! Hit one of those shells and this fight is over for all of us!" Rex warned his men as he saw the shell.
Another clone had attached his grappling attachment to his blaster and fired his line, the end of it attaching to the floor and pulling him down. As he landed, he activated his magnetic boots and then continued firing his blaster. Bane managed to kill two more clones, knocking off the helmet of the second one while the man was still floating in the air.
Rosella slashed the head off one droid before using its body to propel herself forward as she backflipped and landed on a super battle droid. She quickly sliced through the arm that contained its blaster before stabbing it in the chest.
R2 flew over to the controls for the gravity - among other things - while Anakin jumped on a disabled droid and ran across its body before propelling himself forward, coming upon two super battle droids. He sliced through their blaster arms and then flipped over, slicing through them again for good measure. Turning around, he spotted Bane, who had barely moved from the place where his boots had stuck him to the floor. More importantly, his eyes focused on the holocron that the man had in his grasp. As he sliced through yet another battle droid and propelled himself towards the bounty hunter, Bane turned around, raised his blaster in the air and fired one shot that was quickly blocked by the Jedi Knight.
Then Anakin lashed out with his foot, kicking the blue-skinned man in his jaw.
The momentum behind the swift action caused Bane's magnetic boots to come loose as he lost his grip on the holocron and he flipped over as he rose into the air. The Jedi relic floated free in the middle of the room as Anakin reached for it.
Over by the panel, R2 connected with the astromech port and managed to turn the gravity back on causing Anakin and everyone else who had still been in the air to hit the ground. That also caused everything that had been floating in the air to hit the floor as well. The astromech swivelled his head around and beeped as he had accomplished his task.
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Bane was the first to shake off the feeling of being stunned. As he sat up, he noticed Anakin who had done the same thing. Realizing that he was closer to his prize than the Jedi, he quickly got up off the floor and snatched the holocron from where it was laying on the ground, a smug grin appearing on his face.
Anakin narrowed his eyes and glared at the bounty hunter.
Bane snatched up his blaster and fired at Anakin who quickly ignited his lightsaber and deflected the blast back at him. The Duros dodged the bolt as it flew past him, then got up and ran in the opposite direction. Taking aim, he shot at the clone who was still attached to the ceiling. The area around the trooper's feet broke and he fell towards the ground.
Without a second thought, Anakin thrust out his right hand, using the Force to stop the clone, who had lost his grip on the rotary blaster that he was using, from falling and smashing into the ground.
Rosella darted past her father and Anakin saw that she was using the force to enhance her speed. "I'll get him!" She said. "You focus on getting the trooper safely to the ground."
Anakin's eyes widened as he continued to lower the clone to the ground. Realizing that his daughter was taking off after a dangerous bounty hunter that wouldn't be afraid to kill her or even use her to get what he wanted, there was nothing he could do except call out a warning to her as Bane ran towards the door on the opposite side of the room and escaped into the corridor beyond as it slid open. "Rosella wait!" The Knight yelled as he finished lowering the clone to the floor before using the force to enhance his own speed and go after her. "It's a trap!"
The teenager heard her father's words but knew that recovering the holocron and the crystal were more important. Plus, she was much closer to the bounty hunter than he was.
As Bane glanced behind him and saw that the young padawan was following him, which was what he wanted to happen, he waited until she had cleared the doorway. Then without even glancing down at his wrist gauntlet, he reached over and pressed a button on his gauntlet, causing the hanger doors to suddenly slide shut which cut her off from Anakin who was running to catch up with her.
"Wait for me and we'll take him down together!" Anakin yelled as he ran up to the door and placed a hand on the metal surface as it closed in front of him and locked. Behind him, he could hear Rex and his men who were busy firing their weapons as they worked together to finish off the remaining battle droids. Knowing that he had to catch up to his padawan, the Knight shoved down the worrying feelings that were flying through his brain, raised his lightsaber into the air and jammed it into the door as he began the slow task of melting a hole big enough for him to get through.
He was so focused on his task that he didn't see the B-1 battle droid as it was marching forward. The droid took another step, tripping on the head of a fallen comrade. As the droid fell to the ground, it pulled the trigger of its blaster and fired a shot. The red laser slammed into the shell that was now on the ground.
Anakin felt the warning in the force and heard the explosion as it went off behind him. He heard the cries of his men and felt some of their deaths reverberate throughout the Force. After pulling his lightsaber free from the door, he turned around, felt the floor shake and looked up. As he saw the ceiling break into chunks and fall towards him, the Knight quickly deactivated his lightsaber and threw his hands up, forming a shield above him.
As the pieces rained down around him, he blacked out, hoping that Rosella had heard his pleas and followed his orders.
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Bane finally stopped running and stood in front of a blast door.
Rosella ran after him and stopped a few feet away. "Did you really think that you could get away so easily?" She asked as she got ready to face him again.
"Do you really think you stand a chance of defeating me?" He asked as he turned around. "You're not much of a challenge, youngling. I've got you right where I want you." Then Bane quickly raised his blaster and fired a shot at her.
The teenager easily deflected the bolt back, causing him to groan in pain when it hit his right wrist gauntlet. Rosella glared at the bounty hunter, her blue blade in her right hand as she moved her right hand behind her, ready to swing again. Her entire body was tense. After a moment of waiting, she ran at the bounty hunter, slashing at him.
Bane managed to duck, avoiding her incoming slash that had been aimed right at his head. She tried again, but the bounty hunter ran out of the way and then launched himself into a wild, spinning kick that knocked her lightsaber out of her hand. The blue blade vanished with the traditional snap-hiss as the power automatically shut off and the hilt landed on the ground.
Bane grabbed his blaster and pointed it at her.
Rosella didn't stop to think about her next move, she reacted like she had been taught, thanks to Rex and her Jedi teachings on hand-to-hand combat. She grabbed the wrist holding the gun with one hand and twisted it as she turned around, causing him to cry out in pain as he lost his grip on the weapon, letting go of the blaster as it clattered to the floor. Then she jammed her elbow as hard as she could into his ribs, before using his weight to fling him over onto his back.
The thirteen-year-old teenager placed her hands on her hips and said, "Honestly, I wasn't that impressed by that fight that you just put up." Then she reached out with one hand and used the force to summon her lightsaber back to her.
All of a sudden Bane looked up, rolled over, and reached out, latching his right hand around her ankle.
Rosella stared down in shock, her concentration now broken, as Bane hit a button on his wrist gauntlet. The teenager screamed as a stun charge was sent through her body. The electric lines ran up her body and she just couldn't take it anymore. 'Dad!' She thought as she felt Bane let go of her ankle. She let out a barely audible sigh as her body fell backwards and landed on the metal ground with a thump.
Bane smirked as he got up and stood over the unconscious padawan.
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'Dad!'
The Jedi Knight's eyes flew open as he sensed that his apprentice was in trouble before her end of their bond went silent. He knew that she was still alive, but also felt the warning from the force that she was in danger. Anakin gritted his teeth and clenched his right hand into a fist as he tried to get up, only to feel a giant piece of metal laying on top of him. Then he remembered everything that had happened.
With a renewed sense of urgency, he used the Force to lift the debris up enough so that he was able to stand and push it away from him. As he lowered his head, closed his eyes and let go of his current jumbled cloud of emotions that were running through his head, they snapped back open as he heard Rex call out to him.
"General Skywalker," Rex called through the wall of debris that currently separated both of them. He caused a few pieces to come loose and fall to the ground as he was on the other side with R2 and his remaining members who had survived the explosion. "Can you hear me? Are you all right in there?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Anakin said as he ran over to the wall. "Rex, I want you to take R2, along with the rest of your men and get back to the hangar. Find a transport, but wait for us as long as you can."
"We're on it, sir," Rex responded.
Anakin turned around and activated his wrist com, glad to see that it was still working. "Rosella, do you copy?" He asked.
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Rosella's own wrist com started beeping for a few seconds before stopping. The teenager was still unconscious as Bane had stunned her really well.
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More and more fireballs seemed to burst from the frigate, explosions racing through it.
On the Resolute, Admiral Yularen watched as the explosions suddenly disappeared and knew that whatever was about to happen next wasn't good. Knowing that he was still patched through to Anakin's wrist communicator, he said, "General, I've detected a power surge that is heading for the bridge. If you are still in that area, I suggest you leave immediately. You need to abandon your mission sir as it's far too dangerous for you, your padawan and your men."
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"I might have a small issue with that order Admiral," Anakin said, wincing as he was sure that Yularen wouldn't be happy with what he had to say next. "I still haven't been able to recover the holocron or the memory crystal and I seem to have misplaced my Padawan."
"The ship is tearing itself apart!" Yularen's voice could be heard over Anakin's wrist com.
"Move the Resolute to a safe distance, Admiral, and await my signal for evacuation," Anakin ordered. After ending the transmission, he walked over to the door, took his lightsaber off his belt, ignited the blue blade and cut a hole through it. Walking through his newly made hole, he deactivated his saber, hooked it back onto his belt and set off after his padawan.
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"Of all the Jedi, why did I have to end up with Skywalker?" Yularen said to himself.
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Rosella had never seen cuffs like the ones that were currently wrapped around her wrists. They looked like normal binders, but when the teenager pulled her wrists apart, trying to break free, she was zapped with a mild current that made her cry out in pain.
"Oh, I wouldn't do that. Those binders have been specially designed for Jedi," Bane said. "The more you struggle the tighter they get." Then he smirked. "Are you impressed now, young one?"
"Not really," Rosella replied as she quietly groaned in pain. Then she heard the sounds of a distant explosion. As she turned her head to try and look behind her, she realized that the ship was falling apart around them. Remembering that there were still shells in the gunnery room, the teenager turned towards Bane with a smirk on her face. "I hope you enjoy this little game that you have going on while you still can, you di'kutla sleemo. "We both are going to die when this burning boat explodes."
"We still have time," Bane responded with a smirk on his face. "I've heard that the bond between a Jedi teacher and his apprentice is supposed to be very strong."
"The bond that I share with my Master is stronger than you think," Rosella said. "I know that he will be coming to rescue me any minute."
"I need to see some proof of that. Let's see if I can get him to come here any faster," he said before pressing a button that turned green and activated the full power that was stored in the cuffs. Then his finger moved towards another button and he pressed it, watching with a twisted grin on his face as Rosella fell to the ground as she was electrocuted.
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Anakin could feel her pain. It was taking every ounce of his self-control not to get angry and give into the darkside. As the Knight made his way down the corridor, leaving a trail of destroyed battle droids behind him, he released as much of his anger as he could into the force since had he a strong feeling that Rosella wouldn't want to see him like this.
Then he came upon three remaining B-1 battle droids who were guarding a blast door. That was all that stood between him and his daughter.
As they began to back up, one of the droids pointed to his companions and said, "I thought you said that we would be safe back here." Then the droid panicked and turned around, fleeing to the door as it frantically tried to activate the controls.
"Why are you so afraid?" The droid who was standing in the center asked as Anakin ignited his lightsaber and held it in his hand. "Look, there are three of us and only one of him."
"It still won't matter," the third droid said as it hung its head and arms, accepting the end of its mechanical life.
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Bane, who had stopped torturing the padawan long enough for her to get back to her knees, raised his left wrist gauntlet and tapped the button to answer the call that was making a beeping noise.
A droid's voice was heard coming out of the device. "Sir, there is a Jedi heading your way and he looks very unhappy," the droid managed to say before it cried out and a lightsaber was heard.
Rosella looked up as Bane reached over and pressed a button on the side of the cell. An orange energy shield came up, separating her from reaching the blue-skinned bounty hunter. "It would seem that your master has gotten the message," he said.
Rosella got to her feet and ran at the shield. She cried out in pain as she slammed into it and stumbled back before falling to her knees. Her hands, which were still cuffed together, had just hit the floor when the door opened.
Anakin stood in the doorway, with his lightsaber in his right hand. "You have nowhere left to run, bounty hunter," he said, threatening the bounty hunter as he walked into the room.
Bane, who was still facing Rosella, along with both of the B2 battle droids, turned around to face the Jedi Knight. "Let me worry about that, Jedi," he said. Then he lifted his left gauntlet into the air and pressed a button. "If I activate this control, the outside airlock will open and she will be sucked out into space. Do you honestly think you can kill me and then save her before that happens? I've heard that it's a horrible way to die."
Anakin's eyes widened a little when he heard what Bane said. He wasn't about to let Rosella die. She gave him hope. She reminded him that he, along with all the other Jedi in the Temple were fighting for a future where younglings like her could grow up in peace and not have to be fighting in a war. His eyes softened as he gazed at her, knowing that she was far too young to be ready to accept death and it was clear that the idea of dying still scared her.
"Besides, isn't negotiation supposed to be the Jedi way?" The bounty hunter asked, as a smirk appeared on his face. The two super battle droids lifted their arms and stepped forward, aiming their blasters at Anakin.
"What do you want?" Anakin asked as his lightsaber vanished, the blue blade returning to its hilt. He could feel Rosella's shock over their bond and knew that her eyes would be full of disbelief, knowing that he would be willing to give up the mission just to save her.
Bane took his hand off of the button and reached for the holocron, holding it up in the air. "This holocron contains information that I've been paid to obtain," he said. "I don't have the means to open this box, but I have a feeling that you will do it for me since the last Jedi who was here wouldn't cooperate." The droids took a few more steps towards Anakin. "I hope you don't make the same mistake."
Anakin's eyes shifted so that they locked onto Rosella's. Her fear of being sucked out of the airlock and shame that she had let the bounty hunter get the best of her drifted over to him across their bond.
Bane knew that they didn't have much time before the ship exploded. "We are running out of time Jedi. Hurry up or she dies!" He said, threatening Anakin by holding his finger over the button on his left gauntlet.
Rosella watched as her father closed his eyes and let his shoulders slump. She could sense that he was going to agree to the deal. "No, Master! Don't do it!" She exclaimed, a pleading tone in her voice. 'Dad! Don't do it! Master Secura told me never to sacrifice a thousand lives just to save one! Do not trade my life for the ones on that holocron!'
'Quiet! As my apprentice and daughter, you are more important to me than the holocron.' Anakin shook his head and spoke aloud. "I can't let you die, Rosella," he said in a defeated tone.
"Master, no!" The teenager pleaded for a final time.
Anakin closed his eyes and knelt down, placing his saber on the floor and standing back up. "We'll deal with the holocron later," he said.
"How touching." Bane said in a mocking tone.
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It hadn't been easy, but they had made it to the hanger that they had secured earlier. The two troopers who had brought Master Ropal's body to the Resolute and had returned aboard the shuttle that they had taken were now on opposite sides of the room. Both men had their blaster rifles up and were firing at the droids when the Rex and the rest of the men, along with R2 arrived.
"All units make for that shuttle!" Rex said as he pointed to the lone transport ship that sat in the middle of the room. There were four B1 battle droids and two dwarf spider droids blocking the path to it.
They ducked behind crates and pillars as blue and red lasers streaked across the hanger. One of the B1 battle droids was taken out by a shot from one of the clones. Then another B1 fell to blaster fire from another clone. One clone, who was standing with his brother in front of a stack of crates had to duck as a shot from one of the enemy forces knocked the crate that was on top off and sent it tumbling to the floor.
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Another series of explosions shook the entire frigate.
Inside, that same movement caused a pipe to burst, sending oil onto the floor. The spill began to spread, heading towards a pile of artillery shells that lay just beyond the fire that was already in the room.
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Yularen watched as more explosions rocked the entire ship. Spotting something that he knew he wasn't supposed to see, he said, "Captain, the main reactor is exposed. It's going to implode at any moment."
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Rex, who was busy firing at the droids who were in the room, paused and raised his right arm to his mouth, still holding his DC-17 blaster pistol in his hand. "Thank you for the information, sir," he said, ducking to avoid a blaster shot. "We're trying to make our way to a shuttle now."
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"Get out of there!" Yularen ordered.
"Sir! Yes, sir," Rex responded, ending the communication between him and the Admiral.
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Rex turned to two of his men who were firing at the droids. "You two! Go find the General and help him!" He said as he turned back to the action and started to fire his pistols again. "This frigate's not going to last. We have to get out of here!"
"Yes, sir!" The clones responded. Then they ran off to go accomplish their task.
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Turning on his heel, Yularen issued a command to everyone on the bridge. "Come about," he said. "We need to put some distance between us and that frigate."
The Resolute turned around as it moved to a safe distance away from the burning frigate.
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Anakin knelt on the floor, his eyes closed as he focused on the blue and gold holocron that had been placed in front of him. Bane walked over and crossed his arms. Rosella watched what was happening from her place behind the energy field.
The Knight didn't care that there were two super battle droids in the room or the way Bane hovered over him. His hands remained still as he felt the cube float slowly into the air. It slowly spun around before glowing and the outside split into multiple pieces, a blue light shining from either side as it opened up.
Bane's eyes widened and he walked forward saying, "Now that the holocron has been opened," he reached into his coat pocket and withdrew the crystal. "I can add the memory crystal that I acquired from your dead Jedi friend." Dropping the crystal into the air, he stepped back and watched as the green kyber crystal spun around and then fell into place in the center. The outer pieces reattached themselves to the holocron, twisting so that it remained in its cube-like shape, with four triangles around each corner.
Bane cupped his hands underneath the holocron as Anakin finished with it and it fell into the bounty hunter's hands. The Duros held it up to inspect it. "Thank you for your cooperation," he said. "My employers will be most pleased to receive the results."
Anakin's eyes shifted from the now completed holocron to a pair of lightsabers that Bane had stuck into a holder on the wall to the right of the cell. Rosella stood up and watched as her lightsaber as well as her fathers flew into his hands. He ignited both of their blades.
The B2s fired as fast as they could while Bane backed up to the shield. Anakin spun around, managing to block the shots that were fired before slashing through one as Bane opened the airlock. The air behind the shield began to howl and Rosella leapt for the door frame on the right side of the cell, managing to grab onto it and hang on as she screamed.
Slashing through the last remaining droid, Anakin sent it flying into the wall, smacking into the control panel for the shield and shutting it down as he saw his daughter gripping onto the door frame. Anakin let the howling air pull him towards the airlock, latching onto the side by the control panel with his mech hand.
Bane activated his rocket boots and used the extra power to flee from the room as the door closed behind him.
Even with the added strength, Anakin still struggled to grab onto the frame with his other hand and pull himself towards the controls. Rosella slightly gasped as she saw that her grip was starting to slip because of the escaping air. She had no room to spread her hands out as the cuffs, though no longer zapping her still remained tight around her wrists.
Anakin used all his strength to pull himself forward and glance at the controls that were on the panel. Locating the one for the airlock, he reached out and pressed it with two free fingers. At that same moment, Rosella lost the grip that she had on the doorframe and feared for her life as she was sucked towards the open door.
The Knight's head whipped around in time to see his daughter's fingers come loose from the frame as she headed towards the airlock. He thrust his left arm out and watched as her hands latched onto his wrist and held onto it.
Luckily the airlock closed a few seconds later, causing Rosella to let go of his wrist as they both hit the ground.
Rosella landed on her side and let out a relieved breath of air. Rolling over a little, she looked up as she saw Anakin get up off the floor with both their sabers in each hand. She got to one knee and then the other as Anakin flipped her saber around and ignited it. The teenager moved her binders to the blade and cut them off, letting the metal rings fall to the floor as her father deactivated the lightsaber and returned it to her.
No sooner was her lightsaber back on her belt, did Anakin wrap his arms around Rosella and hug her tight. She was alright and, at that moment, that was all that mattered.
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A panel had broken free from the storage compartment where shells had been kept. They clanged together, the sound lost in the crackle of feasting flames as they piled on the floor and the oil crept closer.
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Bane didn't seem all that upset that the ship was going down in flames. He held out his hand, activated the holocaster that sat in his palm and stared at the holo of Nute Gunray who only seemed to want answers. "Bane, did the Jedi cooperate with you?" He asked.
"With a little encouragement," the bounty hunter replied. "I now have access to the contents of the holocron and everything that is stored on the memory crystal. Now I just need to get off this junk heap that you call a ship since it's going to blow up soon."
"Send the data over to me then," Gunray told him. "As soon as I receive it, I'll send another ship."
"Sorry, Viceroy, but I don't think that will be necessary. You see, I have my own plan on how to escape this ship," Bane told him. Then he turned off the holocaster and put it away as he headed out onto the walkway that overlooked the hanger bay. Peering over the edge of the railing, he saw that the clones were busy fighting one last battle on the failing ship. His eyes narrowed as he noted that the clones were winning which would make the first part of his plan easy to accomplish. The other part would be a little more difficult.
"Hold it right there!" A voice behind him said.
Raising his arms slowly, Bane turned around. A pair of troopers stood behind him, their blasters raised and pointed at him.
"You're not going anywhere, bounty hunter," the trooper who had the upside-down v painted on his helmet said.
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Rosella ran after her father, ignoring the pain that rushed through her body with every step that she took. She used the Force to enhance her speed like she had done when she went after Bane. She could sense through their bond that Anakin seemed to be worried about catching Bane and recovering the holocron as well as escaping from the doomed frigate.
"Rex, I hope you found us a ride off this bucket!" Anakin said to the Captain over his wrist com as they kept running.
"We've got to leave now. The reactor is going to blow. We can't wait any longer!" Rex replied.
"Sorry, Rex. You, R2 and the remaining men are going to have to wait for us. I'm going after that bounty hunter," Anakin responded before disconnecting the communication.
"Master, wait! Where are you going?" Rosella yelled, skidding to a stop in the middle of the corridor when she realized that they hadn't turned towards the hanger where Rex and the other were waiting for them. Lifting her arm into the air, she pointed in the direction that they were supposed to go. "We need to go this way to get to the hanger. I know you heard Rex. So did I. This ship is going to explode and we have to leave right now!"
Anakin stopped and turned to face her. "I can't let Bane get away," he said, determined to find the bounty hunter.
"Patience!" Rosella yelled before lowering her voice. "Master, you need to be patient."
Anakin looked at the floor in thought before looking back up at his daughter. "You're right," he agreed before walking back to her and giving her a one-armed hug.
Then they took off towards the hanger.
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Rex stood at the top of the ramp, gesturing to his vod to hurry up and get on board while another clone was near his position as he fired his blaster rifle at the remaining droids. The trooper ducked to avoid getting shot as another one of his brothers ran up the ramp and into the shuttle. Another one zig-zagged his way up the ramp.
One of the remaining battle droids was blasted by a blue laser and it fell to the ground, red lasers still firing from its blaster as the droid's metal fingers were still curled around the trigger. Another trooper made it onto the shuttle.
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The oil that was pouring out from the pipe in the gunnery room caught fire and raced towards the large pile of artillery shells that were still on the floor.
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Anakin and Rosella made it to the small hangar bay. They both stopped and Anakin glanced around before noticing the shuttle with Rex and the other troopers boarding it. They darted for the ship, when a scuffle on the walkway overhead caught their attention.
There was a trooper, grappling with someone who looked a lot like Bane. The clone had the bounty hunter pressed up against the railing before managing to shoot the blue-skinned man in the head. Bane toppled over the railing and smacked onto the floor below behind a pair of crates.
Anakin and Rosella stayed still for a moment as they were unsure if they had just seen what they thought they had.
"Come on! Come on!" Rex called out to the two Jedi.
The words from the 501st Captain shook them back into action and they sprinted for the shuttle, managing to jump onto the ramp and race up to the door. They turned around and stood on either side as the ship started to lift off.
The shuttle rose into the air and hovered near the walkway. It looked like Bane had managed to wound the trooper while they had been fighting as the clone held his wounded arm before letting go as he climbed to the top of the railing and jumped onto the ramp, kneeling on one leg.
"Trooper, were you able to recover the holocron?" Anakin asked as he helped the clone up and into the ship.
"No, sir," he replied.
"I'll get it, Master," Rosella said as she jumped down the ramp.
"We don't have time for you to do that," he said, thrusting out his right arm to stop her before turning to Rex. "Rex, get us out of here."
Both Jedi entered the shuttle. Once the ramp retracted and the doors were closed, the clone who was sitting in the pilot's seat flew them out of the hanger as the Separatist frigate exploded behind them.
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In the hanger aboard the small shuttle, it was quiet. Everyone on board was lamenting the fact that they had failed their mission. Neither Anakin nor Rosella had been able to recover the holocron or the memory crystal. Master Ropal's body was safely being preserved aboard the Resolute for his burial and ceremony that would honor his life upon their return to the temple. The only good thing that had happened was the death of the bounty hunter.
"Well, it looks like the holocron was destroyed in the explosion," Rosella quietly said. "Now, the Separatists won't be able to get their hands on the information."
Anakin listened to his apprentice's words even as he tilted his head a little. The Knight wasn't so confident that the bounty hunter was actually dead. He knew what Bane felt like in the Force as he and Obi-Wan had gone after him when he had broken into the Temple. It was a skill that all Jedi learned whether they were healers or not. Anakin could swear that he felt Bane's presence, and not in the lingering way that would vanish, but like he was with them on the shuttle. "Bane must have been killed in that explosion," he said. "So why can I still feel him in the Force?"
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A few moments later, the shuttle landed in the Resolute's hanger bay. R2 exited the shuttle first, followed by Anakin and Rosella.
"Master, I'm sorry I let that mercenary get the better of me," Rosella said, sounding defeated as they stopped at the bottom of the ramp.
Neither of them noticed as the injured trooper left the ship.
"It wasn't your fault Rosella," Anakin said as he glanced over at her and placed his left hand on her shoulder. "It was mine, from beginning to end." Then he let go and walked towards the Admiral, who was waiting for them.
Rosella looked at her father knowing that even if she had said something else, it wouldn't have been enough to convince him to change his mind on whose fault it was. Then she turned around and breathed a small sigh of relief as she knew that she wasn't getting in trouble even though they had both played parts in the failed mission.
"So, did you manage to retrieve the holocron and capture the bounty hunter, General?" Yularen asked.
"Um, no and no," Anakin said.
"I see," Yularen said. "I gather that this mission was your usual version of success, then?"
"If by success you mean, I won, then yes," Anakin replied.
Yularen grumbled something that neither Anakin nor Rosella could hear under his breath and walked away.
Rosella smirked as she was still standing on the ramp of the shuttle. Then she got off and ran up to Anakin as she wanted to accompany him to wherever he was headed.
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The wounded trooper, the one who had tussled with Bane aboard his frigate, was still holding his arm as he walked away. Beneath the helmet, he wore a twisted smile on his face as he knew that he was going to be rich once he escaped the Venator.
Translations
di'kutla - foolish, idiotic
vod - brother
sleemo - slime-ball