Chapter 21 - Gunray
DISCLAIMER: We (unfortunately) do not own Star Wars. :P
Author's Note: In which Ahsoka and Ferus go to investigate the fate of the Republic cruiser bringing Gunray to Coruscant... among other things. :)
Many thanks to loldelegate here on ff. net who has been giving us advice and suggestions for this fic! We never could have made so many unique plans without you! :D
~ Amina Gila
Ahsoka does not have a very good feeling about this mission. At all. The Force is uneasy, and that only puts her on edge even more. The Republic cruiser carrying Nute Gunray, who was finally captured, to Coruscant has disappeared. The Jedi Council has been fruitlessly trying to contact the cruiser – and people's personal commlinks – for a couple hours, before she and Ferus Olin were dispatched to investigate.
She still can hardly believe they were able to capture Gunray like this in the first place. Padme, Jar Jar, and Kitster – with complete disregard to any common sense or safety – had somehow ended up in a fight with Separatist droids Rodia, and they managed to capture Gunray. Ahsoka didn't hear the details of the story, and frankly, she'd much rather not know. She's spoken to Padme, in the past, about doing things like that, but she continues with her stubborn endeavor to disregard her own safety as much as possible, so it was pretty much pointless.
"We're almost there," Ahsoka tells Ferus, scanning over the controls. The two worked with each other a lot when they were still padawans, though they never got along that well. Still, they're at least able to tolerate each other now that they're older. Besides, Ferus' former master, Siri Tachi, is the one who was in charge of the missing cruiser, so Ferus' worry for her has dampened his usual grumpiness.
The shuttle jolts as it comes out of hyperspace, only for a piece of debris to fly right past the front viewport, nearly smashing right into it. Ahsoka's eyes widen in alarm as she takes in the scene. The Star Destroyer has been badly damaged, and with the amount of debris floating everywhere, it shows the clear signs of a droid attack. The cruiser isn't even functional anymore, at least not mostly; it's stuck drifting in space.
Ferus' worry skyrockets, and Ahsoka shoots him a slightly sympathetic look. It doesn't look as if there are any survivors, though it is still possible, she has to admit. Injured people could be there, still alive, but Ahsoka has seen enough things like this to know not to get her hopes up foolishly high. She needs to stay practical.
The thought of Siri being dead hurts her too, even if she was never close with the Knight – now Jedi Master – when she was growing up. They knew each other well because Siri was around Obi-Wan so much. But there's no time to think about the what-ifs, right now. They need to move in. Ahsoka ducks around the largest pieces of debris, letting the shuttle's shields deflect the smaller ones as she flies towards the Star Destroyer, landing in the main hangar which has been left open.
The engines are no longer operational, and the artificial gravity seems to be inactivated, but at least the ray shields are functional, thereby keeping them inside the Star Destroyer. Otherwise, they would have to return with the proper equipment for space walking. Ahsoka pushes herself down the ramp, floating away from the shuttle, grimacing at the weirdness of drifting around without gravity to keep her grounded – no pun intended.
"I think we should try to turn the gravity back on," Ahsoka tells Ferus as he drifts over to her. "That will make our search far easier."
"I agree," Ferus concurs, and they make their way through the halls of the Star Destroyer.
It takes far longer than Ahsoka would like before they manage to restart the artificial gravity generator, but she's never been so grateful to fall on the floor in her life. At least now they'll be able to conduct a search properly. On the way here, they'd seen a few dead clones floating around, but nothing else and nothing to indicate that there are any survivors.
"We should go to the prison level," Ahsoka decides, taking off down the hall at a sprint. They don't have much time here, and the faster they move, the better. Ferus has no objections – surprisingly – to her taking the lead, for which she's grateful. They have better things to do than argue and bicker for the sake of it.
The damage gets worse the further they go. There is obvious damage to the walls from a blaster fight, and Ahsoka gets the sinking feeling that everyone is dead. The further they go, the more she can see marks that look like... lightsabers? "Ferus, look at this." She gestures to the walls, fingers lightly tracing over the damage. "It looks like there was a duel here. And oh! Over there. Those clones were killed with a lightsaber."
Ferus leans closer, looking around with a frown. "You're right," he says grimly. His face is pale, and Ahsoka knows that he's in denial. The chances of Siri having survived are low, but if she was captured... then they also may never see her again. "I've heard about Dooku's new apprentice. Savage. This doesn't look like his doing though. The style is too... refined."
"Exactly," Ahsoka agrees. There is a distinct elegance to the style, but the Star Destroyer has been so badly damaged that she doubts the security cameras have anything recorded still, provided everything wasn't willfully destroyed. She sprints the last two halls to the detention area where Gunray was being kept, skidding to a stop inside the doorway with a gasp.
A handful of Senate guards had been sent to keep Gunray secure, and their bodies are lying around – mostly intact though a few are missing limbs, or a head in one case – dead from a lightsaber. Siri... the Jedi Master is sprawled at the base of the security console, lightsaber lying nearby. She was stabbed in the chest and abdomen. Whoever did it must have been using two lightsabers and is a very experienced duelist. Definitely not Savage's work. A rogue assassin or a new, secret threat from Dooku?
Ahsoka suspects the latter, though a part of her is angry at him for doing something like this so shortly after they spoke. She knew, of course, that the war would have to go on but somehow... she had thought it might be toned down slightly. It was a foolish thought anyway, so she disposes of it. She gives the Jedi Master one final look before turning to double check the area beyond.
Ferus gasps behind her, and she doesn't look back at him, giving him a moment of privacy to grieve his master's death. They'll have to report to the Council as soon as possible so they know what to do next. More than likely, they'll be instructed to bring Siri's body back to Coruscant while a salvage team is sent out to recover whatever can be recovered from the wreckage.
After determining that Gunray is, in fact, gone – rescued, of course – she turns back to where Ferus is kneeling by the dead body of his former master. "I'm sorry," Ahsoka tells him quietly. "I'll give you a moment while I go report to the Council."
He nods, not looking up at her, and she leaves the room, making her way through the halls as she returns to the shuttle. For a long-range transmission, the shuttle is the only way for her to contact Coruscant from out here. The Council responds exactly as she had anticipated, and before long, they leave the stranded Star Destroyer behind, returning to the Temple with Siri's body for the funeral. This will be the first of many deaths, Ahsoka knows, and she is not looking forward to what the future holds for herself and the galaxy at large, especially with a new unknown having been introduced into the equation.
**w**
"What is it?" Ahsoka asks, snapping Kitster's thoughts back to present, "You seem... distracted."
Right. He's been pondering the critical problem for a while now, and he still hasn't found any solutions other than the one he doesn't really want to go through with. But it doesn't seem like they're going to have another option. "There's... something I need to tell you," Kiter replies, throwing a brief glance around Padme's living room, making sure no one else is within earshot.
"What?" the Togruta frowns. The times that their schedules actually lineup so they can be together are few and far between, but to be fair, Kister is used to it. It was often true on Tatooine too, when they had work for their masters most of the day.
"Remember what I was telling you about the... movement?" What else can he call it? Even if no one is around to see or hear, he isn't going to risk talking openly about it; it's far too dangerous.
"Of course," Ahsoka confirms.
"A group of them were on a mission to a planet in Hutt-occupied territory, and things went south really quickly. A number of them were killed, and most of the remainder are injured, even if not gravely. They don't have any weapons left, and there's only so long they can hold out before they get overrun by the Hutts." It's the things often encountered in a galactic anti-slavery movement like this, which he's been involved in for years, ever since Tatooine, but this was a more major operation, and they were not expecting it to end up like this. No one else has any resources available to help them. "If nothing else, then they need a ship to evacuate. Eirtae is one of them," he adds after a moment.
"Eirtae?" Ahsoka echoes in surprise.
Kitster nods. "I happened to get some of Padme's friends involved in all of this, over the years."
"I'm not surprised," she replies, a faint smile flickering across her face a moment before she grows serious again, "So I'm assuming you're telling me this because you don't have the resources to extract them from the situation or immediately deliver weapons yourself."
"Yes," Kitster agrees with a sigh, "I don't want to have to ask this of you because you're in the Republic military, but we don't have another option right now."
"I wish I could help personally," Ahsoka admits, "But that's not really possible."
"I know," Kitster sighs.
"But," she continues, "I can talk to some of my contacts. I might be able to get some medical supplies and maybe a ship and some weapons for them too."
Kitster raises an eyebrow at her. "How would you have contacts like that?"
"Just because I'm a Jedi doesn't mean I want to stay oblivious to the goings on in the underworld," Ahsoka replies, looking faintly amused.
Kitster is pretty sure he's missing something huge, but he decides not to comment. There's a lot of military things she can't talk to him about because they're confidential, and while he's pretty sure this doesn't specifically have to do with that, if it was something she was able to share, he knows she would tell him. He's not going to push. "Okay," Kitster replies finally, "The sooner we get help to them, the better."
**w**
It's ridiculously cramped in here, but Ahsoka supposes that's kind of what happens when the races being held are rather illegal, to say the least. She keeps her hood pulled up over her head as she watches the race in the underworld.
She hears a slight movement behind her, and a familiar hooded figure slips through the crowd of people, coming to stand next to her. "The ship and supplies have been delivered," Ventress tells her quietly.
"Good," Ahsoka replies. She told Kitster she would take care of it, and thankfully it worked out without any problems. "What about... things for the Project?"
"Still underway. Lately, it's been harder to actually get money and smuggle the parts we need for it," Ventress replies.
To be expected, she supposes. Especially with the war going on, getting things on the blackmarket is even more difficult. "Do what you can. The sooner it's done, the better," she replies.
Ventress nods, gaze turning back to the race in front of them. It's one of the ways they're both able to get some of the money they need.
"I have another request for you," Ahsoka speaks up after a moment.
"You seem very needy these days," Ventress states dryly, "Where would you be if I hadn't left Dooku?"
Ahsoka scoffs. "I would've hired someone else. Don't let it get to your head."
Ventress snickers. "So what do you need?"
"Do you think you can arrange a group of... mercenaries who would be available to fight if I ever need them?" She's been thinking about this for a while now, and it's the best way to continue with her plans. She will bring an end to the war, even if she has to use rather unorthodox methods to go about it.
"Shouldn't be a problem," Ventress assures.
"Good," she murmurs, returning her gaze back to the racetrack as the racers approach the final stretch before the finish line.
"That boy has a lot of skill," Ventress comments, watching with faint amusement.
"Yeah, he'll win again, as always," Ahsoka agrees. Because they might have secretly gotten Anakin involved in their plans without telling Obi-Wan anything about it. Knowing about the Project is on a need-to-know basis, and Obi-Wan definitely has no part of it.
Anakin loves racing so much, and he doesn't even mind that he doesn't get any of the profits from it. He's more than happy to pass them all to Ahsoka to help her continue working towards her final goal.
Truly, she could never be gladder to have gotten to know him, and not only because of how helpful he's proven for her plans. Sometimes she has to wonder, though, how well Anakin's path is going to align with the Jedi. He's all about helping the individual and will easily do so at the expense of himself. He's extremely selfless, and that's something the Jedi have long since forgotten. She honestly wishes there were more of them like him.
Ahsoka's pulled from her thoughts again as Anakin's speeder streaks across the finish line, and the announcer calls in the results. She's pushing her way through the crowd of people instantly, making her way to where Anakin is climbing out of the speeder with a grin.
"Nice job," Ahsoka compliments with a smile, and Anakin shoots her a grin.
"And you managed to avoid damaging my speeder this time," Ventress quips, appearing beside her.
Anakin rolls his eyes. "That was one time, and the others were totally ganging up on me and cheating."
"And he still managed to win that time anyway," Ahsoka reminds.
"It was a tie, technically," Anakin points out cheerfully.
"Well, I'll let you know the next time I hear about a race this major," Ventress says, "I'll be sure to tell you in advance."
"Good, because that actually happens to be common courtesy, in case Dooku never taught you about that," Anakin chirps.
"'Common courtesy' as you call it, isn't really a part of Sith training," the Nightsister drawls.
Maybe it should bother Ahsoka that the former Sith assassin has such a liking for Anakin, but it doesn't. Not really. She didn't trust Ventress at first – and still doesn't, fully – but she doesn't think there's anything actually wrong with associating with her.
"I hate to break up the reunion," Ahsoka snips, stepping forwards, "But we need to be going."
"Yup!" Anakin agrees, "Before Master Obi-Wan wonders what happened to me."
"We wouldn't want that, would we?" Ventress smirks, "You better run along, kid."
"See you at the next race," Anakin calls over his shoulder with a grin before he hurries away after Ahsoka.
**w**
Master Yoda and Windu's words from days ago are still ringing through Obi-Wan's head. He's been lying to himself. Ahsoka is getting darker, and he had chalked the signs up to her volatile Togruta nature. Apparently, though, he's far from the only one who noticed, and it's so bad that even the Council is troubled about it now.
He's really worried about it, too, but he simply doesn't know what they can even do. He can't talk to her about it. Ever since she was Knighted, Ahsoka has hardly spoken to him at all except for mission related matters, or when it's absolutely necessary. He'd be lying to himself if he said that her attitude doesn't hurt. Yes, that's the way padawans are supposed to be towards their masters after they are Knighted, but some part of him always expected Ahsoka to be different. It's not like he can very well talk to her about that either, since that's the way all Jedi are.
Obi-Wan wishes he could hide himself in the kind lies, and avoid the harsh truths, but he can't. Not anymore. He doesn't want to sit back and do nothing as his former Padawan slips closer and closer to the Dark Side. The only person he's ever seen who is able to draw out her lighter side anymore is Anakin. When they're around each other, she seems... lighter, and shows signs of being... well, how she used to be when she was much younger.
Perhaps what he needs to do is try to have Anakin spend more time around her. That's difficult given that they're constantly busy with battles that aren't always in or near the same systems, but it's the least he can do to try and help Ahsoka. Perhaps on Ahsoka's next mission, he could send Anakin with her and hope that the limited amount of time they spend together will be enough to balance her, at least for a time.
Obi-Wan has to admit that Anakin is far easier to train than Ahsoka ever was. He's far less aggressive and likely to argue when he's being given orders. After the latest incident with the Domino Squad, he does feel somewhat guilty about the way they argued. Maybe he needs to let his Padawan go on his own missions from time to time; he's more than proved that he's capable of holding his own. He should try to demonstrate to Anakin that he trusts his judgment. It's the least he can do. Even if he can't help his former Padawan the way he wants to, he refuses to let his current Padawan follow the former's dark path.
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