Chapter 45 - Umbara
Author's Note: Thank you, loldelegate! :)
~ Amina Gila
Ahsoka still can't believe the peace process fell apart so completely, and she doesn't know what to do about it. At least not anything more than she ever did.
It still fills her with anger that they were so close, and the Senates themselves all willingly chose to throw the opportunity away. And doing what she did last time isn't going to work again. If she wants to bring peace to the galaxy, she's going to have to do it a different way. Especially when she's beginning to question how effective the Senate leadership ever will be.
But for now, all she can do is turn her focus back to the fight, the way she always has.
Thus far, Umbara has proved to be little more than a death trap. The 501st has been doing nothing but stumbling blindly into one ambush after another, and Ahsoka's frustration is growing. Tarkin is here with the Malevolence, which is helping in the space battle, but that's not going to do any good on the ground, which is where she is right now.
Anakin and Obi-Wan are on the ground with her, but it's her job to cut through enemy lines so they can make it to the capital somehow.
Which is proving to be quite challenging.
Her frustration has reached its highest point when a squad of fighters and gunships come down to save them from another ambush – something she should've seen and been prepared for itself. The lead gunship lands in front of her and Rex and the doors slide open to reveal a towering Besalisk Jedi Master – General Krell. Ahsoka has never met him before, but she's still heard of him. His tactics are harsh, much like hers, though a bit more reckless at times, but he gets the job done. She respects him for that.
"General Krell," she greets him politely, "Thank you for the air support."
"Indeed, General Tano," he replies.
"Why did you come down here?" she inquires. A dark part of her mind is wondering if this is another step by the Council to have someone to watch over her constantly. She already knows they don't trust her, and the feelings are mutual.
"The Council has ordered you back to Coruscant, effective immediately," he replies, "You are to be sent on another important mission. The details are classified."
Ahsoka blinks in confusion. This doesn't make any sense. "Why? What for?"
"As I said, the details are classified," he repeats, "They did not tell me."
"Either way, I can't just leave my men out here," she objects.
"I'll be taking over in the interim," he assures, "But if you desire to take some of them back with you, that will be your decision to make."
She... probably will, if she needs to go on another mission elsewhere. It's obviously something secretive and important.
"Don't worry about us, ma'am," Rex reassures, "We'll be fine. We'll have the city under Republic control by the time you're back."
"I know you will," she replies. "If this is as important as it sounds, I'll take a squad out to deal with it."
"Domino squad?" Rex suggests. "They're the best."
"Yes," she replies with a nod. Silently, Ahsoka can only hope this is the right decision. She'll need help elsewhere if it's really so important, though Umbara is also a major player in the war. Hopefully it will be worth it.
**w**
The communications to Krell's forces still aren't going through, Obi-Wan observes with no small measure of irritation, as they press their next attacks on the Umbaran capital. It would far easier if they could coordinate, but clearly, that isn't an option now.
He's fighting through the trees a distance away from Anakin when he suddenly senses a disturbance in the Force. There's something – a flash of light suddenly illuminates the darkness on the horizon, right over the Umbaran capital.
And it's in that moment of light that he sees where the... source of the beam of energy is coming from. It's the Malevolence which is flying about as low over the surface as it can.
It's the last he has a chance to see it, before the light vanishes, and he can feel the ground tremble violently beneath him as whatever that was hits the surface right in the middle of the capital. But most of all, he can feel the death screaming through the Force. It's – like thousands and thousands of people were all killed at once, and when it's so close it's nearly overwhelming.
What?!
If he didn't know better, he would have thought the Separatists had just used something like that on the Republic, but – since when did the Malevolence have such capabilities?! What has Ahsoka been doing?!
He has no idea what that was, but it's no "deactivating ships" weapon. It's something of massive destruction and against life, and –
He'll have to wait for answers until after the battle is over, except he doesn't get much farther before Cody suddenly steps through the trees, holding onto Anakin who's walking... rather unsteadily.
Fear tightens in him instinctively, as he hurries over to them, hastily scanning him for injuries. He doesn't see anything, but – "Anakin?"
The boy blinks, gaze unfocused.
"I don't know what's wrong with him," Cody says, "We saw this light and then he just... collapsed."
Oh.
The Force disturbance. Anakin would have felt it far more strongly than Obi-Wan did. Even now, the Force is still screaming with it. "We need to find out what happened," Obi-Wan says firmly, taking Anakin's arm and pushing him onto a tree trunk on the ground. "He'll be fine." Once he pulls himself out of the currents of the Force; it's hardly a surprise it's so overwhelming for him.
Cody nods, pulling out his comm to try sending a transmission.
Whatever was jamming them before is gone now.
"What was that?" Obi-Wan demands, the moment the call is picked up on the Malevolence.
"Our weapon has taken out the capital. You should be able to clean up all remaining resistance swiftly," Tarkin replies.
What?
"What weapon?" he demands, sharply.
"The biological disintegrator. This was the first test run, and I must say it was impressive, but now is not time to discuss this, General. I imagine the Umbarans are closing in as we speak."
Obi-Wan is left blinking at the where the hologram was moments before, wondering since when that was something ever approved to put on the Malevolence. What?! That's – this – how could Ahsoka ever do this?! He will be having some words with her, as soon as she's back. The Council has to take action, but Tarkin is right that there's no time for this right now. They need to finish this, and –
"Anakin?" he asks, crouching in front of him, laying a hand on his arm, "Are you alright?"
He blinks, gaze finally focusing on him. "Yes. I – yes, Master." He sounds more than a little shaken. "What..."
"Tarkin did it. We'll deal with it as soon as this is over," he replies, hand shifting up to his shoulder, tightening his grip just a little, "Can you keep fighting?" They don't have time right now.
Anakin nods, moving to stand, though he nearly stumbles when he does, reaching up to press a hand to his head.
"You can rest here if you need it," Obi-Wan interjects, pressing his lips together. He won't risk something happening to him needlessly.
"I'll keep an eye on him, sir," Cody offers.
Obi-Wan wouldn't mind doing it himself, but they must finish this first. Both Jedi cannot be out of the fight. "Alright," he replies, nodding tersely. They have a battle to win, and then some serious... conversations to deal with.
**w**
It turns out, Ahsoka has to admit grudgingly, that she definitely was being needed elsewhere. This mission is far more important than Umbara. The Separatists somehow found coordinates to a secret route to Coruscant, the Nexus Route – how that happened, no one knows. The galaxy is changing and shifting, and many hyperspace routes have long been abandoned. Somehow, they found this one, though.
Ahsoka had to cut her way through and steal the information before it could be transmitted elsewhere. All she had was Domino Squad plus the help of a cruiser. They could only spare one, but predictably, they don't manage to make the jump into hyperspace before the ship jolts violently.
"We're being boarded," one of the clones calls to her.
Ahsoka lets out a quiet, angry hiss. "Close off the area," she commands, "I'll go down to deal with it."
She takes off instantly. This is like all the other times she's fought, but still, something about this is different. It's more dangerous, maybe. She already erased the coordinates from everything except her mind, and she knows that means it's crucial for her to get back to Coruscant with them.
Even so, they have no choice but to repel this attack and get out of here.
The droids are cutting through the doors when she finally arrives. Domino squad is behind her. The other clones are going to deal with the droids in other places, gathering defensive positions to ensure they can't get far inside.
But more will keep coming unless they hurry. Complicated, when the Separatists are blocking off the hyperspace route. It's going to be a shootout; she knows that for certain.
The moment the droids finish cutting through the door, Ahsoka throws it back with the Force, demolishing all those stupid enough to stand right behind it.
She jumps through the hole before the droids can start firing, green lightsabers ignited. But more droids step around the corner, tramping over the crushed pieces of their comrades, firing blindly at her.
Behind her, the clones are shooting back, and Ahsoka presses forwards.
She would have kept going, if a group of MagnaGuards hadn't suddenly arrived, brandishing electrostaffs circling in on her amidst the chaos. These are something the clones cannot fight off, so Ahsoka launches herself into their midst, parrying blow after blow. There's too many of them though. It's overwhelming, and Ahsoka has no choice but to retreat farther back. There are more droids here than she anticipated.
She falls back, panting, trying to regather her bearings when she suddenly hears a snap-hiss sound from the end of the hall. She knows without looking it's not Dooku – the presence is too dark and deranged for that. Ahsoka looks up, wariness flooding her instantly.
Komari.
"I should have expected to see you here," Ahsoka says, eyes narrowed.
The Dark Sider doesn't reply. Instead, she raises her lightsabers and lunges at Ahsoka. The Togruta moves forwards, meeting her mid-way. The Sith is fast, Ahsoka has to give her that. She's deadly, too. They should have anticipated her presence here, considering the extreme importance of this mission. It would be as great a blow on the Separatists to lose this as it would be on the Republic if the Separatists were able to secure the information.
Ahsoka parries her blows quickly, countering them with her own, as their green and red blades clash in a deadly blur. She fought her once before, but it's not enough to know how to fight her effectively yet – especially not when they're in such closed spaces like right now. She's always used her agility to her advantage, and now there's little room for that.
But she doesn't have anywhere to run, so she'll have to win this. Maybe she'd have had a fair chance, if two MagnaGuards hadn't promptly attacked her from behind. And she can't fight all of them off at once.
Komari kicks her to the floor, and an electrostaff connects with her back before she scrambles up, electricity jolting violently through her. A shot rings out – one of the droids must have fired a stun blast – and everything goes dark.
**w**
The capital is completely desolate, demolished. Everyone here is dead. There's nothing here alive at all, not even the plants.
"This," Obi-Wan says flatly, "Is why that ship should have been destroyed from the start."
Anakin trails him, nodding as he turns to scan their surroundings again. "What will we do, Master?" he asks. He even sounds shaken.
And Obi-Wan can't help but think, it would really have helped if Anakin hadn't been involved in helping Ahsoka in the first place. He's pretty sure he can see that now, though. "I'll speak with the Council. Perhaps they can convince the Senate to –"
"General," Cody's voice cuts him off, and he looks up to see the clone running up.
"What is it?" Obi-Wan asks. Something's wrong, he can tell immediately.
"We just received a transmission from Coruscant," Cody replies, breathlessly, "General Tano has been captured, and the Council intends to send you to rescue her immediately."
What?!
"What?" Anakin blurts eyes widening, "How?"
"What happened?" he asks.
"They didn't say, sir," Cody responds, "But she was on a classified mission to retrieve some information from the Separatists, and she didn't escape."
Despite his current anger with Ahsoka, that doesn't stop his instant concern. He knows how Separatists treat their prisoners, and if they want information out of her, it will not be pleasant. They must get there as soon as possible.
**w**
Even through the protective suits they're wearing to protect themselves from the lava-covered planet, Anakin can feel the heat. He can definitely see why Lola Sayu is such a perfect prison spot. Even if someone could break out of the huge fortress, they wouldn't be able to breathe. And they'd be surrounded by lava on all sides anyway. There's no way out without help.
They have to wear masks to keep out the toxins and let only breathable air filter in. There's precious little of that out here.
The carbon-freezing part was Anakin's idea. Obi-Wan wasn't happy, but honestly, they're working with Clone Force 99 again. Obi-Wan would have to be insane to try reining in their chaos. And Anakin is quite excited to work with them and Omega again.
Coming back to consciousness after being unfrozen is a very disorienting experience. Not something he ever wants to repeat, but they have far more important things to be dealing with right now.
"Remember, this is strictly a stealth mission right now," Anakin has to tell Wrecker, who groans dramatically.
The hardest part will be getting attire, capable of withstanding the planet, inside to Ahsoka. Lava gases are toxic. They burn, easily, without even being nearby, and that means they have to get in and out as fast as possible. As Jedi, Anakin and Obi-Wan can shield themselves from the worst of it until they get inside, but it's going to be hard if something goes wrong. They'll have to draw a literal air bubble around themselves, which is easy to do, but hard to focus on and keep up, especially if fighting breaks out. The clones aren't so lucky, though they also have armor which is capable of withstanding the worst of it.
They make it to the base of the wall leading to the entry point easily, but of course, that's when everything gets complicated.
The wall is covered with electromines, so they'll have to climb the wall by hand.
Wrecker groans loudly as they start climbing.
"A slight breeze isn't going to blow you off the wall," Crosshair unhelpfully supplies.
"It's more than a breeze," Tech interjects loudly over the wind whipping around them before Anakin can get out the same objection. Because it is strong with how hard he can feel it rushing across him.
"There's lava below us," Wrecker complains.
"Don't look down then," Rex advises. They brought him, along with Cody and several other of the 212th.
Climbing the wall isn't easy, but Anakin's done far harder things before. It's tricker when they're getting to the top, and a droid patrol comes out of the building momentarily. They all have to freeze, until they hear the droids going back inside. Except it's accompanied with a much too familiar hiss of a ray-shield.
Uh oh.
"It's ray-shielded," Obi-Wan observes, peering over the ledge to the platform above.
"That wasn't part of the plan," Cody objects.
"It is now," he says, grumpily.
"Blow it up!" Wrecker advises cheerfully.
"This is a stealth mission," Tech reminds, "Maintaining secrecy until we enter is crucial, or – "
He groans loudly again, drowning his brother out.
"We'll find another way," Hunter assures.
Anakin glances down, frowning. They don't have time for this, and they must find a solution now. Speaking of that – "There's a small hatch close by. If someone could fit through... "
"I can do it!" Omega offers.
Anakin pulls himself over the edge, giving her a hand to help her up, and she scrambles for the side of the building, crawling in through the hatch as the others clammer onto the ledge. They sprint into the dark hallway, and Crosshair raises his rifle, shooting the cameras on the walls – even before the others had a chance to spot them. Convenient.
Everyone files inside, and Anakin can only hope it'll take a few minutes before the droids sound the alarm. He has no doubt they'll register what's happening over here immediately, but hopefully, they'll think it's a natural disturbance and send a droid out to investigate before sounding the alarm.
Except at the disturbance, the wall cannons suddenly activate, shooting at them. Anakin whips out his lightsabers, rapidly deflecting the shots away, trying to take them out. The clones instantly start shooting as well, taking them out as fast as they can.
The moment the last one is down, Anakin sprints to the end of the hall, peering around it to make sure the coast is clear.
Danger suddenly surges through the Force, though, the same moment he hears the crackling sound of electricity.
"They're electrifying the walls!" yells Cody.
"Run!" Rex shouts, and they take off as fast as they can, but it's not fast enough. He feels it as someone's life is zapped out of them literally – before they even have time to scream. He pauses, just for a moment, to look back.
It was one of the 212th. He doesn't know if it's someone he knows, but... anyone could die on this mission, especially the clones. It's by far the most dangerous, and... for a moment, his gaze darts to Omega. She's the least experienced. He doesn't know that bringing her here was a good idea. She knows how to handle herself, though, and... he can only hope it will be enough for everyone.
"We must keep moving," Obi-Wan urges.
They take off down the halls again, taking out whatever security measures they can as quickly as possible as they go, heading for the command center.
Droids outside the door attack them, and he and Obi-Wan move forwards together, cutting them down, before plunging their blades into the door, cutting it open. Obi-Wan throws the metal aside, stepping through.
The facility commander – whatever species he is, Anakin's never even seen it before – whips around, firing. Hunter throws a vibroblade at him the same moment Rex fires, and he collapses to the floor.
Tech scrambles into the room, going over to the control panel. Anakin watches him work, anxiously pacing over to the hole in the door. Every minute counts right now. He doesn't know what they're doing to Ahsoka, but they have to find her fast. And without alerting the entire facility that they're here, but it's probably too late for that.
"I found her location," Tech reports, looking up, "And I am re-routing all droids to the other end of the facility to deal with the disturbance."
"I won't get to blow anything up?" Wrecker asks, visibly disappointed.
"That's not in the plan yet," Anakin replies, "But with how often we improvise, I'm sure we can work something out."
"Likely, not all the droids will proceed to their ordered location," Tech replies.
"We should move out," Obi-Wan advises, and they don't wait, racing back out into the facility's halls again. It's time to find Ahsoka.
**w**
Everything hurts. That's pretty much a pointless statement though – of course, it does. She knew this would happen the moment she woke up, but right now, her vision is hazed over from pain as she struggles to cling to consciousness. The droids will – no doubt – go as far as permanent injuries if they have to, to make her talk. She won't. She'll stay stubbornly quiet as long as she can. The Jedi will come for her – the information she has is important.
They'll take as long as they have to, and they don't tire. She's not that lucky.
It's the first time she was captured. First, and hopefully last.
She hears... something, distantly, outside the door, just a moment before it flies open. It takes a few moments for Ahsoka to realize that no, she's not hallucinating. Anakin and Obi-Wan actually are here – finally.
They've cut down the droids before they have a chance to react, and she can't help thinking that the way they're moving perfectly in sync is far, far more than she has managed with anyone. She almost envies it. She does envy it, but longing for such a bond won't give her one.
Anakin slashes through her restraints, and Obi-Wan catches her, slowly lowering her to the ground. He hasn't touched her since she was little, at least not unless she was injured, and that sends another stab of resentment rushing through her. Somehow, it seems Anakin has everything she's always wanted, and she doesn't understand why.
"Are you alright?" Obi-Wan inquires. He sounds genuinely worried, and that... hasn't happened in a long time. (She'll admit she hasn't been very receptive of it either, because he always so... frustrating. She's only noticing it glaringly now, when they haven't talked in so long. Maybe she's only thinking about it at all because everything hurts right now.)
"Perfectly," she says, flatly.
"Can you walk?" he asks, as Anakin crouches on her other side, his concern obvious.
As if they have much of a choice. "I'll try," she replies, pulling herself upright unsteadily. She's completely exhausted. They haven't let her rest since she came here, and that was... quite a while ago. Hopefully it won't be hard to make it out, because Ahsoka isn't sure how long she can keep moving without resting at some point.
"We need to find the clones I brought," she adds, as they head for the doorway. Anakin takes her arm to steady her, eyes shining with worry. Assuming the clones are still alive. If not... she knows so many die constantly that she can't let herself get attached, but it would be especially bad now, since Fives has half the information they need. Hopefully the droids never thought to torture them, too.
"I have already located them," one of the clones calls, somewhere further down the hall.
They find the other cell quickly enough, and it's easier now that she's moving again but still, she's exhausted.
The clones all stand the moment the door to their cell opens, and she counts them quickly. There's... not nearly as many as she brought with her, but all of Domino Squad is still alive.
"General," Fives greets.
"Have they harmed you?" Ahsoka asks.
"They questioned us, but otherwise, no," Hevy offers.
"Good to see you again, Commander," she hears Echo saying to Anakin, as they step back out into the hall.
"And you," he replies, with a surprising amount of cheer. Then again, he's almost always cheerful. Somehow.
"The droids have been re-routed to the other side of the facility," Obi-Wan tells her as they break into a run again. She tries to ignore how her body is shaking, and how hard it is to keep up. There's no time to worry about that right now, but the aftereffects of lightning seem to stubbornly disagree with that assessment. "So we shouldn't –"
The sound of clanking suddenly fills the air, and they all jolt to a stop as a couple destroyers and a group of assassin droids spring around the corner.
"You were saying?" Ahsoka asks lightly.
"That we'll likely still encounter some on the way," he replies shortly, spinning up his blade to block the blaster bolts as they open fire.
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