Hyperspace
GNR Resolute
Officer's Quarters, Near the Bridge
It was quiet aboard the Resolute on this evening, as quiet as it could be aboard a Venator-Class Star Destroyer. There were occasional footsteps from Clone Troopers or crewmembers coming from outside, but otherwise, it was pleasantly quiet.
Which suited Ahsoka Tano just fine. She was currently resting in her bunk, her face turned to the left, and her eyes were stubbornly refusing to stay closed. Ever since the second Battle of Geonosis, she had been having some trouble getting to sleep. Namely, a few nightmares that came as a result of the parasite worm infection aboard a medical ship she and Barriss Offee were supervising.
Even though Anakin, Barriss, and even the Clones who had been infected had assured Ahsoka she had done exactly what she needed to, and that her actions saved the lives of countless Clones at the medical facility and beyond…she herself was not so certain of that. Tossing over in her bunk, she finally swore under her breath, admitting defeat, and stood up with an exhale of frustration.
"Still having trouble sleeping?"
Ahsoka turned to see Obi-Wan Kenobi in the doorway, with a sympathetic look on his face. As he sat down in a nearby chair, Ahsoka gave a weary nod.
"Yeah, I am." she admitted. "It's easier on some nights, but…I guess this is just one of those times."
"Indeed." Obi-Wan replied. "You know, shortly before the Clone Wars, I had to counsel Anakin over some disturbing dreams of his own. I guess that he hasn't told you about his past?"
"Other than saying he won't discuss it with me just yet, no." Ahsoka shrugged.
"When he was still my apprentice, during a mission to Tatooine, he learned his mother had been captured by Tusken Raiders." Obi-Wan said, feeling a bit sad himself. "He set off to rescue her, and she…died in his arms soon after he found the Tusken campsite. He was…unwell for quite some time, even after he accepted that loss."
"This was reflected in his dreams for at least a week," he added. "Allow me to give you the same advice that I gave him."
"Dreams do pass in time, and come and go only as a result of our mind and what it has experienced. Everything else is up to the Force."
Ahsoka nodded, noting that she felt a little better at hearing those words.
"Anyway, we should be coming out of hyperspace shortly. I reckon the staff at the Mycera shipyard will be quite relieved to have our supply delivery." Obi-Wan said. "Come, let's head to the bridge."
Ahsoka hopped out of her bunk, and just as she and Obi-Wan entered the hallway, alarms began to blare. A squadron of Clone Troopers immediately ran past, and Obi-Wan recognized one of them from Geonosis.
"Trapper, what's going on?" he called.
"We're not sure, sir." Trapper, a Clone from the 212th under Commander Cody's command, replied. "We're on our way to meet with Commander Cody in the ready room. Admiral Yularen and General Skywalker also need you both on the bridge immediately."
Obi-Wan and Ahsoka nodded, and headed off towards the elevators, passing by multiple squads of Troopers on the way. As they approached and opened the lift doors, another familiar face stepped in beside them.
"General Kenobi, Commander Tano." Captain Rex greeted as the doors closed.
"Captain Rex. Has Anakin told you what's going on?" Obi-Wan asked.
"I was talking with him earlier over the comlink, when I heard Admiral Yularen swear loudly, and General Skywalker call for battle stations." Rex replied. "Other than that, nothing."
"I guess we'll see for ourselves, then." Ahsoka said. As the doors opened and they ran into the bridge, they stopped cold once they saw what lay before them.
"Oh, skrag." Rex cursed. "What happened here?"
The Shipyard at Mycera had been hosting three Venator-Class Star Destroyers, two Acclamator-Class transports, two Arquitens-Class cruisers, two Consular-Class vessels, and several other support ships. Now, each of them looked like a feral beast had slashed each of them apart. Massive scorch marks and gashes lay across the frames of each ship that was lucky enough to still be intact. The others were just smoldering wrecks or clumps of scrap metal.
The Venators seemed to have taken the brunt of the attack, as massive scorch marks lined the topside turbolaser batteries, and debris filled the area. As the Resolute passed by a wrecked Consular-class vessel, they could see the cockpit had been torn open, and at least two dead Clone Pilots could be seen at their posts.
Suffice to say, the entire bridge was silent at this, until Anakin Skywalker broke the stillness.
"Admiral, is there any chance for survivors?" he asked.
"I'm not sure, General. There's no telling from here." Admiral Yularen replied. "We should report to Command immediately. Whatever did this might still be out there, and I don't think it's the Separatists."
"I agree." Obi-Wan nodded. "We'll have salvage teams and a medical ship out there as soon as we can, Anakin. For now…let's warn the Republic of what's happened."
Anakin nodded, and as the command staff proceeded to the main holotable, they didn't notice a large vessel approach on the other side of the debris field. It was sleek and colored blue, green, and white, with two prongs facing backwards. A large crest lay on top of the hull, emblazoned with an unknown symbol. The design of the ship concealed several heavy turrets and a main cannon, giving off a look of blistering firepower and elegance in design combined into one.
As searchlights came to life on the alien gunship, it began to search the wreckage meticulously for signs of life.
A short distance away, a group of four escape pods were clustered together, each packed with as many Clones as they could possibly fit. It was hard to move about, and for the inhabitants of the first pod, all eyes were on the Clone in the pilot's seat. Lieutenant Arken had been in charge of these Clones, and had guided as many of his brothers as possible to the pods as the attack unfolded.
Whatever the creatures were that had attacked them, the Clones had agreed on one thing…that they were damned near impossible to kill. The Clones had found some initial success by using heavy weapons and plenty of explosives to destroy the initial wave of hostiles, but the next batch of creatures generated a personal shield that rendered any form of explosive useless.
Thus, the Clones had to fall back to their Blasters, and again found success in dropping the shields with concentrated fire…only for the creatures to generate new shields that deflected their blaster bolts. Eventually, Admiral Kagen, who was in general command, gave the order to evacuate the shipyard, and for all surviving Clones to take the escape pods. His Venator, the last operational ship, would provide cover fire into the horde of creatures.
The plan had worked, with multiple waves of pods escaping, but once the heavy turbolasers ran dry…the horde descended and destroyed the lone Venator. It has horrifying to see the creatures carpet-bomb the bridge superstructure en masse, which destroyed the viewports, and whatever survived was cast out into space.
Now, as Lieutenant Arken thought hard, the Clones around him looking at him for guidance, a rookie trooper spoke up from the comms terminal on the right side.
"Lieutenant? Permission to speak freely?"
"Granted." Arken replied.
"How are we going to get through this? The rations in the pod are almost gone, the battery only has an hour left of power, and the wounded don't have much longer. Not to mention the other pods have it just the same as us, or worse."
"Tell all pods to shut off their comms, and start splitting the rations up as best they can. If there's anyone out there looking for us, we'll need to stay alive as long as possible. How much longer can the wounded hold on?"
"I'd say about a half-hour at most, sir." Patch, the only medic in the pod, replied. "I'm also running low on stims and clean bandages."
Arken sighed and stood up from the chair, drawing everyone's attention to him.
"Helmets off, everyone." he ordered. "I want to see your faces."
The Clones did so, placing their helmets in front of them as Arken began to speak.
"Our situation is bad, we all know that. But falling into despair won't help us. We need to stay alive at all costs, and if we keep up hope…we'll make it home. I'm sure of it."
"We're all brothers here, and brothers look out for each other. I swear it, we'll get out of this mess. All I ask is that you don't give up on me…on us…just yet."
The Clones gave a weary cry of approval as they put their helmets back on. Then, Arken heard a beeping coming from the sensor array.
"What is it?" a Trooper asked.
"There's a ship out there." Arken said. "It's coming our way, and fast, but I can't identify it as friendly or hostile. Keep your blasters low but ready."
The troopers all knew they didn't have much ammo left, but they nodded and readied their weapons. Then, a massive, blinding light appeared through the viewport, and the pod began to move. As they did, Arken could see the faint forms of the other pods being brought towards the source of the light.
Then, the light faded, and there was the faint screeching of the exterior being dragged across the surface of the ship, then everything went quiet. As the lights of the ship's interior began to illuminate the area, the Clones saw the inside of the ship they were in.
It was colored white, blue, and teal, with smooth plating running all around. Apart from a large pile of crates in the corner, and what appeared to be an entry point for a gunner to operate a turret, there was little to be seen otherwise.
Then, the door behind them opened, and the Clones turned while raising their weapons to face whoever it was that crewed this ship…and then their aim went slack.
Standing before them was a tall, armored being, colored gray, white, and royal blue, wearing a black scarf and tabard with gold adornments. A longsword lay at his waist, with an ornate gold pommel. It tilted its head in question, before standing to the side and motioning for the clones to exit the pod.
Arken was the first to approach, and the being slowly bowed, before raising its hand towards the pot. Before Arken could react or even speak in greeting, a thick green mist flowed into the pod, covering the Clones from head to toe.
Arken went for his DC-17 Heavy Pistol, only for the being to grab his hand and stop him from doing so.
"What was that? What did you do just now?" Arken growled, trying to free his pistol from the being's grip.
"Sir, stop!" Patch called, causing Arken to turn to his fellow Clone. "The wounded…that green stuff is healing them somehow!"
At that, the being released Arken's hand, and he soon made his way over to a wounded Trooper, which the Lieutenant remembered being named Ace.
Ace had sustained two large gashes to his chest and leg from a creature armed with two long laces, and now, right before his eyes, the cuts were sealing up. A set of wounds like that would've normally required at least two hours in a Bacta Tank, but the green mist had healed it completely in less than a minute.
"Fierfek." Patch swore. Arken turned to the three other wounded Clones, and to his surprise, they were starting to recover their strength, and were trying to stand up. Arken turned to the being, who was quietly standing outside.
"Who are you?" Arken asked the being. The answer he received would change the face of the War and the Galaxy as a whole.
"Tenno." the being responded in an even-toned male voice, with a slightly synthesized edge to it.
"Is that your name?" Patch asked again.
"That is who we are." the being motioned to the other pods, where four other beings could be seen helping the other clones out and applying more green mist to the wounded. "We will properly introduce ourselves when you and your men are fully recovered. For now, stay here, eat your fill, and rest. In the meantime, we will continue searching for any more survivors. In time, we hope to return you to whatever force or faction you come from."
"If you wish to know our names…I am Excalibur Umbra. This is Volt, Zephyr, Trinity, and Rhino. Should you need further assistance, our vessel's Cephalon will handle your request."
"Cephalon?" another Clone asked.
"The Tenno are referring to me." said a deeply accented, male voice. A small hologram then appeared of a maroon colored, geometric shape in the center of the area. "I am Cephalon Cy, overseer of this Railjack. Just like the Tenno told you, if you need anything, let me know. There are food and water rations in those crates. Go ahead and help yourself."
"Thanks…I guess." Arken replied. As the other Clones swiftly broke open the crates and began passing out canteens of water, what appeared to be a few varieties of fruit, and a chewable stick that tasted like spiced meat, Lieutenant Arken looked to the Tenno, who proceeded up a stairway and towards what was likely the ship's bridge.
He sighed, took an offered meat-stick, and began to eat, knowing what happened next was out of his hands.