Greed and fear of loss are the roots that lead to the tree of evil
The Republic Fleet is on the defensive and pushed to the brink!
As war rages on the much contested Outer Rim territories, Aayla Secura and her Padawan Russel Skyfall, have just completed a battle in the Queel system and are currently headed for the Jedi Council, but are currently unaware of the surprise attack that will eventually come!
Russel was in the training room of the Republic Cruiser, training in blaster deflection with the Marksman-H Training Remote, getting prepared for his eventual test. He was doing it for over an hour already. Aayla Secura noticed that and sighed, as she went over to Russel.
"Russel, can I speak to you for a moment?" she asked politely.
"Yes master." said Russel as he deactivated his lightsaber and the droid came out of his way. Aayla Secura sighed.
"You're doing great Russel, and I am very proud of you, no need to over train yourself." said Aayla with honesty.
"Thanks master, but I've just been training for over an hour already." Russel stated.
"Are you sure?" Aayla asked, as though she knew something.
"Yes master, I am very certain." then a beep came from Aayla's comm, which she then responded with.
"Secura here."
"General," said the voice from the comm "we have something you might wanna see."
"Alright, I'm on my way." said the Jedi Master as she turned off her comm, focusing on her padawan once more "We'll talk about this again at some point." she stated "But Russel, you need to know that everyone here is proud of you, and you'll have us by your side." Russel watched his master leave for the bridge, then walked away from the training grounds, though he still had Ahsoka in his mind. The fact that not only was she about the same speed as him, but that she had something that put her above him made his teeth grit in frustration. He didn't want to be surpassed by her. Not sure where to go next, he soon spotted some clones in the firing range doing blaster training. There were only five of them, so he decided to join them, hoping to get in some blaster training. He could hear some of their talk about the trooper who had just finished training and how great his aim is, but still couldn't get a girl. The men seemed to be having fun, based on their laughter, but it quieted to amused chuckles as one of the clones spotted Russel.
"Well well well, if it isn't the fastest Padawan alive." said one of them, as he did a fist bump with Russel, which Russel did it with a huge smile on his face. The Clones always create an aura of brotherhood that is never possible to replicate with any other army, but just now, based on how the Clones are acting towards Russel, it's almost like they've accepted him into their sort of family.
"And here are the loyal soldiers." replied Russel with a huge smile on his face "I was wondering if I could do some Blaster Training with you guys. Assuming I'm not getting in the way of anything." the Clones then looked at each other, they didn't mind the idea of Russel training with them, they would gladly accept it, but there was something extremely important that was needed to be asked.
"Are you sure kid? You just had some difficult training." one holding a training rifle commented, almost as though the Clones knew something, but wanted Russel to tell them.
"Jeez, you guys are starting to sound like my Master." said Russel sarcastically.
"Kid, we're just looking out for you. If you wanna train, we'll gladly train you." said another one.
"You won't get FINER training than this... especially one related to the ladies." commented the one holding the Rifle, handing it to Russel.
"Cut it out, Code. You've never even met a girl that isn't just throwing herself at you." said the previous Clone which made the others chuckle at the remark, including Russel, as he accepted the Rifle and aimed at the target.
"Just to let you know, this target can fire back at you, to mimic the sensation you would get from being on the battlefield. And don't worry, its the same type of blaster that we train with back at Kamino. Non lethal, so to say." a Clone explained.
"That explains the cover that is right in front of me." said Russel "Will it hurt?" Russel asked out of curiosity.
"It will sting." said the same Clone. The droid was then activated and it began firing at Russel, which encouraged him to take cover and take shots when it was necessary to do so. Russel seemed to be having trouble, he tried to replicate what he saw the Clones do, but it was harder to do than what it seemed. Whenever Russel tried to take a shot at the droid, his hands would all the sudden shake and at the moment of firing, he would miss, it doesn't help that what Russel is mostly thinking of is 'take cover and fire'. Some of the Clones looked at these immature actions by Russel and were reminded of their days at Kamino. Russel was probably thinking the same thing they were when they first held a blaster rifle and trained with it. The fear of getting shot, the frustration of missing or the lack of strength to hold the blaster correctly. When he thought the time was right, the Padawan got out of cover and got shot in the chest, which made him groan a little in pain.
"Yes, I felt that one." groaned Russel. But he was more so frustrated at his lack of skill with a blaster despite seeing so many Clones in action.
"Don't worry, you can always try again. Here's a tip." the Clone then gave Russel a Captains of Crush "Aiming a blaster is no different than what you Jedi are used to, when deflecting a shot on the regular. But the issue is the handling. With this, train with it regularly, you should expect a drastic improvement in your grip strength." Russel tested it by closing his hand with it, but he had trouble with it.
"This is difficult." said Russel.
Yeah, that's 100 pounds or so." the gunner said, "We're used to over 200." Russel was surprised, wondering just how far he had to go before he could be on the same level as the clones. He wasn't frustrated, but he felt jealous of them and their camaraderie. Before anything else could be done, the cruiser suddenly shook, knocking unsuspecting people to the deck. Russel's comm went off as he picked himself up, tapping it to answer.
"Master, what happened?"
"Russel! Get to the bridge! We need you here!" was his master's only answer and he instinctively ran out the door.
"On my way!" Between the constant flow of running clones, the shaking of the cruiser, and the fact his master called, it was obvious they were under attack. He eventually arrived and ran across the room toward the windows, surprised to see three Separatist ships. Not just that, they were on a higher elevation.
"They got us in a surprise attack!" said Aayla. The Republic Cruisers fired back against the Separatist Fleet, but they were heavily outnumbered already. Not only due to the surprise attack, but on top of that, another dreadnought arrived so there were a total of four Separatist ships against the three from the Republic.
"Send the starfighters!" said the ship's admiral.
Russel wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but he decided to keep quiet, in fear of what might happen next. It was taking a while to scramble all of them, only the V-19s were available for take off in the time needed, and even then only three or five at a time. Other fighters like the bombers would take forever. A hand touched his shoulder and he looked up to see Master Secura gazing at him with confidence.
"Russel, guide them. They'll need your quick thinking."
"But master..." He protested.
"Do it, I believe in you." the Twi'Lek interrupted, squeezing just slightly. Whilst it wasn't the best thing to do for someone like the Padawan, Russel understood the situation they were in and immediately went to communicate with the starfighters.
"Squadron, this is Commander Russel."
"Good to have you, sir." Replied one of the pilots.
"Thanks. Alright, first step, you don't want to be in the middle of the ships. Go to the edges and attack them in an arc. Next, pester them with torpedoes. Two squadrons of three starfighters each." Russel jerked back as a loud explosion was heard.
""We lost one of the cruisers!" said an operations trooper and both Jedi looked out the window to see that one of the cruisers was indeed already taken out.
Evacuating gunships were already zipping toward them, not having anywhere else to land for the moment, but half of them were being blasted out of space by the droid army. Russel was still determining what he could have done there, he did have a strategy in mind again, but he was having conflicting thoughts on if he should have done it.
"Alright fighters, begin the attack!" He said anyway, watching their pilots obey his orders to the letter.
"Watch out for that rain of lasers!" said one voice.
"Keep the deflector shields up!" barked the leader, then again when one of their fighters broke formation "Stay on course, rookie!"
"But they're going to hit... Aaaaaaahhhh!" screamed the shiny as he exploded to smithereens. Russel was shocked. He thought of having the fighters retreat, but he didn't want to let anyone down.
"Pilots, keep moving in different patterns and maintain the arc! They must have learned our strategy. Maintain course and move unpredictably!"
"Yes sir!" replied the clones, moving in different angles to strike the Separatist cruisers. Meanwhile, in the droid command center, a tactical droid entered the bridge.
"Um sir, the remaining clones are moving around in a manner that is preventing us from hitting them." reported a B1 unit.
"Impossible, the probability of that happening is 1 to 10. They must have a skilled strategist leading them. Focus fire on the main cruiser." the tactical recalibrated as he replied, his flat voice wobbling just slightly in the process.
"Roger Roger." the B1 replied. The droid blasters continued onto the fleet's primary cruiser at the same time as the two remaining V-19s shot proton torpedoes at the farthest Separatist ship to the right, blowing up the engines with a beautiful burst of light.
"Great job, Padawan" cried the older Jedi, with a look of a proud mother to Russel "Keep the deflector shields up to the front! Focus firepower on the bridges! It must be a tactical droid from our previous battle! We have to adapt!" The strategy worked as the same ship that the two V-19s damaged was being taken down completely and falling. Unfortunately for them, another explosion was heard off to the side.
"Another cruiser is going down!" reported another officer. In the time it took them to damage one Separatist cruiser, they had lost two of their fleet. Feeling heavily outnumbered, the admiral went into contact with the nearest fleet, until a hologram projection of Admiral Yularan of the 501st battalion appeared.
"Admiral, what's happening?" He asked, sounding calm and formal.
"We've been ambushed by the Separatist! We need backup!" said the Admiral.
"Alright, we'll arrive there just in time. Keep holding on." Yularan shut off the call and the admiral turned to his superior.
"General Secura, I just contacted Yularan from Skywalker's fleet," he stated.
"Good, that will help us. now we just need to outlast them," said Aayla. It was a long battle, having to rely on the currently available starfighter and the disadvantage of the enemy's surprise. It felt like hours or a thousand years that the tactical droid held them in this battle lock, feeling as though it was so easy he could be simultaneously playing chess against a supercomputer. But to the Republic, it was a true battle of life and death. Suddenly, yet a third a loud explosion was heard from the front of the cruiser.
"Our shields are gone!" shouted a bridge officer.
"Hurry Skywalker. We're depending on you." Aayla swore, holding onto the console. Then the Makers threw another spanner into the works.
"Commander! Vulture Droids are on our tail!" The worried voice was loud across the bridge, followed shortly by screams of agony before the comms cut out. Russel didn't have time to call for a retreat, distraught as the What-Ifs rattled around his mind. Back at the main Separatist ship's bridge, the tactical droid thought it was prime time to end the battle.
"We have them now. Send in the super battle droids," he told the B1, as swarms, more abundant than raindrops, appeared to infiltrate the remaining Cruiser.
Some of them were taken out by the guns, but the number was simply too high and they began entering a hole in the side of the hull, dropping down into the corridor below.
Just then, Bly appeared on the bridge and Russel relaxed, knowing the clone commander had more experience in battle and strategy.
"Russel! Bly! Get out there and stop those droids!" Aayla ordered, both of them straightening with a "Yes master!" "Yes, General!" before they were running out the door and down the long corridors.
"Commander, you can go to the front! Skywalker might arrive with a shuttle or something!" said Bly. Russel had a similar respect for Bly as Aayla, sometimes they felt like twins really, but it didn't change the fact he also had a strategy. Yet he wasn't the one suggesting it, as though something held him back.
"Understood Bly," he replied, pulling out his lightsaber as the sounds of combat echoed all around. Super battle droids appeared and began firing at them from all directions. The clone commander took cover and fired back, but moving at speeds not inferior to light. Russel ignited his standard blue lightsaber and deflected the laser blasts, giving Bly cover enough to find a niche in the wall to tuck into so he could begin firing back. At the sight of a Jedi, more clones appeared out of nowhere and fought their way through to back the pair up. There was nothing but the heat of ionized air and the sweat dripping under layers of cloth and plastoid, but soon Russel's comms rang.
"Padawan, Skywalker is here. I'll join you shortly for the pickup. Stay safe." The young man grinned in relief and led the advance past piles of dead droids.
"Yes, Master!" Russel replied waiting patiently for his master. The battle raged on through the Cruiser, Russel moved around as though he was an ionized light stream, like the blasters, and Bly's combat experience helped out here. Eventually, more lightsaber noises and the sounds of destroyed Battle Droids was heard, it was Aayla Secura arriving to the group, which left a visible smile on Russel's face.
"Skywalker had just arrived! Maybe he'll have an escape plan as he always does!" said Aayla Secura, as the current group ran across the hallways, hoping to run into Anakin, but they got surrounded again in all directions by the battle droids. The current group consisting of two Jedi and a total of one clone raged on, though it was the same everywhere else in the cruiser. Where were the rest of the troops? Probably taken out by now, but the group had to survive and stay alive until they found Skywalker. Suddenly, more lightsaber swings were being heard in the back, blaster fire was decreasing as though Droids were being taken out, becoming easier for the group. As they looked behind themselves, Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, Captain Rex, and numerous more clones appeared "Nice entrance, Skywalker." said Aayla as the newly increased Republic group moved forward, Russel and Ahsoka shooting each other displeasing looks, as though to say 'Great, I'm back with you'. They managed to focus on the current battle though, tuning in as the Twi'lek continued, "So, how do you plan to get us out of this mess?"
"Well, I have a ship docking in the lower hangar as we speak," replied Anakin. As the group headed towards the lower hangar where the shuttle should be, the battle calmed down and the Jedi deactivated their lightsabers, not thinking they were needed anymore. At least until they ran into a B1 Battle Droid seemingly by itself and trapped.
"Uh... hold it!" ordered the droid as he pointed his blaster at the group. With a confident smirk, not just Anakin, but Russel as well, both ignited their lightsabers at the same time. The nearby hatch opened to reveal a series of battle droids, B1s and B2s alike "Uh... haha!" crowed the first battle droid, brimming with confidence now that it had backup. All at the same time, a swarm of blaster bolts flew toward the group, the Jedi reigniting their weapons to deflect the blaster bolts, gaining everyone the chance to run away. Thankfully, the heroes arrived at the hangar door and Ahsoka pressed the button to connect a bridge to the side door of the shuttle, but not before Aayla and Anakin heard loud explosions in the background. It seemed the tactical droid was getting impatient, the destruction consuming everything in the ship, not just the droids, but the Clones as well. As the door opened, the Padawans and Clones entered first, the Masters hanging back to keep watch. They both saw the violent all-consuming cloud of fire headed their way and knew they didn't have a picosecond to spare.
"It's too late!" hollered Anakin and both the Masters Force-pushed their Padawans and Clones into the shuttle.
"Master!" the Padawans yelled at the same time as the door closed thanks to Aayla Secura, allowing Anakin the time he needed to close the door in front of him, then the Twi'Lek joined to close the door. Closing their eyes to summon every bit of the Force and spread it across their cells and atoms, Anakin and Aayla tried their best to keep the door closed, but the explosion eventually overpowered both of them, causing significant damage and blasting them against the closed door head first, knocking them out.
"Don't move the ship!" said Ahsoka in her communicator.
"Are you guys alright down there?!" the clone pilot asked in the communicator, but she didn't reply. At the same time, Russel tried to open the door, but it was only slight, just enough for him to see both his Master and Ahsoka's in their current condition.
"Ahsoka, help me!" cried Russel as they ignited their lightsabers, both soon creating a hole in the door large enough to allow them to drag their Masters into the shuttle. And thankfully, without a second to spare, they were inside and Bly was closing the door.
"I'm going to turn on the deflector shield!" he shouted as he ran to the bridge. Once he arrived, he took a Clone Pilot's place and everything was set "Gateway release." announced Bly as the Shuttle was released from the gate and left Aayla's currently wrecked cruiser. Rex then went to the bridge and had to announce to Yularean about Anakin and Aayla's condition.
"Patch us through to the Admiral." said Rex.
"On it." said the Clone Pilot as a screen revealed Admiral Yelarean.
"Captain Rex." began the Admiral "I'm assuming that based on this transmission, the rescue mission was a success."
"Well, half of it." replied Rex.
"What do you mean by half?"
"General Skywalker and General Secura were injured on the way, we need the med bay ready for them."
"Are you serious Captain? We'll never be able to heal them in the middle of this battle."
"We have no choice Admiral! Both General's conditions are critical! We need to heal them now!"
"Are all Jedi this reckless?" the Admiral asked in a sort of ironic way.
"You can say that again." replied Rex. As the shuttle was entering the hangar bay beneath Anakin's cruiser, a line of Vulture Droids seemingly spotted them and started firing at the Shuttle. Nothing notable at first as they kept missing, but then it started getting worse as the radar dish got destroyed and then it hit the side of the ship, causing the Clones jump in surprise from the explosion, but it seemingly killed the co pilot Clone, causing his head to hit the controls and hits a series of buttons. All the sudden, a signal was activated, Bly looked into it and was in distress.
"The hyperdrives been activated!" he said at the same time the shuttle entered the hangar bay.
"Shut it down!" shouted Rex.
"I can't!" replied Bly as he did anything possible, pressing a button, flicking a switch. Rex meanwhile went back into contact with Admiral Yularean.
"Captain Rex, what's going on?" he asked.
"We're going into hyperspace! Detach! DETACH!" Rex told the Admiral.
"They'll take us with them!" said a Clone next to the Admiral.
"Evasive manuvers!" ordered the Admiral and just in time too, the Shuttle was separated from the Cruiser and went into hyperspace at a fraction of a second later "Lock onto every course on their last known trajectory!" said Yularean giving orders to the Clones, and without saying a word, the Clones next to him followed it "We need to finish this battle and find them!"
Meanwhile at Hyperspace, the Clones calmed down a little at the temporary feeling at being at ease, but they knew some work had to be done.
"The ship looks extensively damaged. I'll take care of him and see what I can do to fix." said Rex.
"Alright, see if you can fix the hyperdrive's response controls first." stated Bly.
"I will. What about you?"
"I'll stay here to check on our course." stated Bly, as Rex then carried the dead Clone pilot out of the bridge and Bly began to search on where the current crew was headed. At the medical station, Russel and Ahsoka were standing next to their masters. Russel thought about what Aayla would say by now "Go and help the men." something like that, but he wanted to stay with his master. Ahsoka looked behind her and felt like she was looking at another unique Master and Padawan relationship, like herself and her Master. Seeing Russel close to his Master as well, she thought it was cute. Russel then looked at Ahsoka's direction, and Ahsoka had a pout on her face and she looked away from Russel, which made the older Padawan roll his eyes and looked back at his master. The medical droid then walked up to Russel and analyzed Aayla.
"As long as she gets a good rest, she'll recover quickly." he said.
"What about Anakin?" Ahsoka asked in concern.
"He will require more mandatory first aid." stated the Droid. Eventually, Bly walked into the room.
"Commanders, we've got a problem." stated Bly.
"What is it?" Russel asked. Bly immediately after sighed as he then walked towards a computer.
"When we escaped, the Nava Computer's coordinates were inputted incorrectly," explained Bly, turning on the computer, as it showed to the Padawans all the information they needed "and well, we're headed for a star." concluded Bly, and with no time to waste, the Padawans and the Clone Commander immediately ran to the bridge, but not before Padawans took a brief look back at their Masters. Within that time, Aayla Secura opened her eyes, and knew what was about to happen. Upon arriving at the bridge, the Padawans took the seat of the pilots, with Bly and Rex behind them, doing everything possible to turn off the Hyperdrive. The Padawans flicked every switch and pushed every button that would maybe turn off the Hyperdrive or change their coordinates, but as Bly saw, nothing changed "Its no use!" he said outloud as he slammed his hand against the wall "The Navigation Computer is completely fried!"
"Alright, let's look at our options, we can shut down all power circuits to reset the coordinates, make that option B." suggested Russel.
"But that will include our Master's life support." said Ahsoka.
"That's why I said make it option B." Russel smacked back. Ahsoka, with her Lekku, felt someone enter the room and she looked behind.
"Master Secura?" she asked, as everyone then noticed Aayla Secura up on her feet, with her hand on the lever, that is connected to the power.
"Well, I can do it." said the Twi'Lek, as she then pulled the lever down, allowing the ship to get out of Hyperspace and turning off all power units in the ship, catching by surprise the Clones and the Medical Droid. In that brief moment. Everyone on the bridge could see the hot blazing Star they are currently headed towards and were feeling a massive force against them, as Russel and Ahsoka were on the chairs, they felt it the most, with Rex and Bly hanging on the chair's hand grips as though their life depended on it, and Aayla Secura held onto the lever, but she could feel her grip weakening.
"We're out of Hyperspace! Resume all power!" Bly called out, but before Aayla could do anything else, she let go, and in an instant, her head hit against the wall, knocking her out once again "She's let go!" said Bly as he looked at the now knocked out Aayla Secura. With immediate action, Rex let go of the hand grip on the chair and immediately held onto the lever "Hurry Captain!" said Bly, as every second passing by, they were getting closer to the Star. When he recovered, the Clone Captain turned the power back on, and the artificial gravity, making the floating Clones and Jedi Master fall to the ground. Without a second passing by later, Ahsoka immediately took control of the now back on shuttle and diverted it away from the Star, instead it was going for a planet.
"Well, we're not gonna crash into the Star, but we are gonna hit that planet." said Ahsoka pointing out their current situation, with the surface area visible. The now damaged ship was entering the planet's atmosphere, heating up, turning into a bright flash of fire headed to the ground, like a meteor. Bly made sure to hold onto Aayla Secura, to make sure she doesn't get wounded further than how she already is at, as everyone could feel the inner ship heat up, sweating once again, and they could hear loud noises, suggesting pieces of the shuttle came off. Upon crashing on the ground, glass was breaking everywhere, and everyone on board could feel the shaking from the shuttle sliding across the surface area of the planet. It was happening for a long time this violent crash until it stopped. The hard fought ship was now in pieces and on fire. Captain Rex took immediate action and opened a hangar door.
"Everyone! Out!" he said, as every Clone then got off the ship, Russel and Ahsoka were the ones carrying their masters though, with Ahsoka being the last one to leave, as she had to go to the medical station to pick up the unconciouss, but not injured much more despite the violent crash, Anakin Skywalker. Ahsoka all the sudden felt something with her Lekku, noticed that fire was about to touch the fuel lines of the ship, and Russel was the last one to leave the ship, he, his Master, and certainly Ahsoka and her master, were going to be caught in the explosion before they left. With immediate action, the Togruta held onto her Master dearly, jumped forward to Russel and pushed him off the ship, just in time before the explosion happened. The Padawans then rolled a little bit, not sure what is happening with the sudden action Ahsoka had to take. When it calmed down, Russel and Ahsoka were met with an awkward position, the Togruta was on top of the human, and their faces were really close to each other, so close they could feel the tension on their noses. Oddly enough though, they didn't mind it on a certain level, but Russel pushed Ahsoka off of him before it could continue.
"Why did you do that?!" asked Russel as he got up.
"Me?!" Ahsoka smacked back as she got up "Don't you see?! I just saved you!"
"I had everything under control!" replied Russel as he then felt relief his Master was safe, as well as Anakin and the Clones, but he now he had to focus on the argument he started with Ahsoka.
"Oh you sure did! If it wasn't for me, you would have been dead by now and this is the thanks I get?!" Ahsoka argued out loud, with the Clones a little too terrified to get in the way of the Padawans.
"Where was that thanks when I saved you from that Commando Droid, huh?" said Russel impatiently.
"I was going to thank you, but you didn't let me!"
"Oh really?!"
"Yes!"
"Oh really?!"
"Yes!" this made Bly sigh a little, out of annoyance.
"Hey Commanders..." he began, as he walked towards them.
"What?!" they shouted as they gave Bly an angry look.
"We're still on edge about the whole thing. Why don't you two just go your separate ways for now... just don't go too far." said Bly.
"Sounds good." said Ahsoka.
"Agreed." Russel added as they went to their opposite ways, hopefully to calm down. At a far enough distance, Russel sat down and calmed down, maintaining his distance from Ahsoka and trying to keep her out of his mind, and the female Togruta did the same, as both looked like black dots of how far away they were in relation to each other. After some time and the Sun seemingly began to set, Russel knew Aayla and Anakin wouldn't last long without proper treatment, so they need to find someone out there who can help, assuming there is any. Russel thought about many different ways to do it, asking 'How would Master approach this situation?' he would ask himself, but it doesn't matter how he began the conversation 'Let's split up into groups' 'I'll stay with them Master, you go ahead with Bly' 'I want to take care of them', it will always follow up with the same thorough logical response from his Master "No Russel, in order to get help quickly, we have to work together" then "I know this is hard Russel, but they have to stay behind and we have to go now, there is nothing more we can do for them" ending with "We have to do everything to get off this planet, as a Jedi, it is your duty to do what's best for the group" Russel never understood it. Why does she look like she thought things through and came to those cold conclusions? Was it the Jedi Code? But oddly enough, his master rarely brings it up as an argument. So why? Well, all he has in his mind is his master's teachings. Russel sighed and walked towards Ahsoka, passing by the Clones and their improvised tent, that they made for the Jedi Generals and gave them some more treatment. Russel eventually was next to Ahsoka, who was sitting down and starring at the view, which consisted of a collection of trees, grass and the sun set "Hi..." he began awkwardly.
"Hey." replied Ahsoka.
"Beautiful." said Russel complementing the view, oddly enough however, he thought Ahsoka looked great with the light rays around her.
"Hate to waste a view." she stated "But, I am assuming you are here for a reason."
"Well... I have an idea that may help. We just need to find some locals and see if they can help." Russel stated, then here comes the expected response that normally would come from him.
"Ok, you and Bly go up ahead. Rex and I will stay with our Masters. Or it can be me and Rex go, and you and Bly stay, the works." stated Ahsoka, and before responding Russel took a deep breath.
"No Ahsoka." he said "In order to find help quickly, we have to go together, you and me."
"What?!" Ahsoka reacted in surprise from a response like that, especially from a Padawan "But... you can't just LEAVE YOUR MASTER like that!" Ahsoka stated, emphasising on 'leave your master', which yes, Russel was doing, but it was what his Master would do.
"I know this is hard Ahsoka, but in order for us to get help quickly, its better if it was US, together. What else can you do for them anyway? What if I die and don't come back with help?" Russel asked, seemingly starting to understand why his Master probably would do something like that. Ahsoka however had no response, somewhere deep down Russel wished Ahsoka had a response, but nothing was given as she looked down to the ground, thinking about what she would have to do "Look." said Russel, as he placed his hand under Ahsoka's chin and gently made her look at him, which Ahsoka found attractive for some reason "I know, this is a difficult choice, but for our Masters, we have to do it." said Russel, but no response from Ahsoka yet. Russel sighed and went back to the Clones "I'll leave you to make a choice." said Russel one last time to Ahsoka before continuing to walk to the Clone Army that they had currently.
"Russel, we found something." stated Bly as Russel walked towards them. Bly had seemingly a plank of wood on his hand, and when it was handed to Russel, the Padawan noticed some drawings, seemingly of a small creature fighting a bigger one next to a tree in the background "Looks like we're not the only ones here on this planet." said Bly "There has to be some kind of... something here." suddenly, some sort of noise came up, like that of a predator. Lots of the Clones looked towards the source, which was in the grass, and searched around to see if there was something present, but no signs of life was present "If you don't mind me asking, Commander, where exactly are we going?"
"Let's find the people who live on this planet." said another voice, coming from Ahsoka who had just arrived with a pack.
"But where are we going to find them? We have no idea where they are." stated Bly.
"Well, let's go by these drawings first things first." said Russel as he then placed the plank of wood in the pack Ahsoka had "It might be used as a clue." he added. Once the plank of wood was in Ahsoka's pack, she went to check over her Master, kneeling down and looking at him.
"Be strong master. Just a little bit longer. Rex will take care of you." said Ahsoka, and much like in the shuttle, Russel thought it was beautiful to see Ahsoka being caring for his master. There seems to be something they can relate, as Russel held his Master's hand and looked at the Twi'Lek.
"I'll be back." Russel told his master simply "Let's go, Ahsoka." said Russel.
"Don't worry, I'll take good care of them." said Rex as he placed his Rifle onto his shoulder. This comforted the Padawans who then got ready to leave, alongside Bly and the other Clones at their disposal.
"Rex, keep your locator on. We should be back by day time, assuming there is someone out there to help." said Bly.
"Understood." said Rex, then he looked at the Padawans "Hey kids, good luck." saying that final part with a smile, which helped the Padawans a little.
"Alright, let's go. We don't have much time." said Russel, as then the group consisting of the Padawans, Bly and the other Clones moved out of the camp site and went into a jog and sprinted. They ran for a really long time, to the point that what seemed like a few moments, the camp was now completely out of their line of sight and now they had to search for the tree that was on the drawing. After some more time, the group was now taking a light walk, giving time for the Padawans to think about what they were doing. Ahsoka was surprised with how unsure Russel was being.
"I'm sensing conflict within you." said Ahsoka.
"Really? Because I am feeling your worry for Master Skywalker too." said Russel.
"I thought since you amde the decision, it would have been easy." Ahsoka stated.
"Well, it wasn't." replied Russel "I was just thinking what Master Secura would do in this situation... because, I never understood... Jedi are meant to be compassionate..."
"But they can't form attachments." Ahsoka finished "I know, it confuses me too. Its just... isn't that sort of thing fundamental to living?" Ahsoka questioned.
"I wonder the same thing too. But Master never really denied my feelings."
"Neither did Anakin towards me. I can see why you are so close to her."
"Same with you and Anakin."
"Well, for me... I think its because of how much of a brat I am and... well, I am not that aware about it, and Skyguy can call me out on it. But what about you? Why were you chosen for Master Secura?"
"It wasn't exactly an easy choice, it was a little of a conflict between her and another one. But me and Aayla came along easily. She says that... she sees her past relationship with her Master in me and her, a mother and son, a father and a daughter... but as to why... well... um..." it was obvious Russel had an answer to Ahsoka, but once he came to answering it, Ahsoka didn't need the Force to tell that something was off. Russel visibly began to look down and looked trouble, for the first time, seeming vulnerable to Ahsoka. But what caught Russel by surprise, was Ahsoka's response.
"Look, its fine if you don't want to tell me, I won't force you." which comforted Russel and he smiled at her.
"Thanks."
"Anytime." for the first time ever, the Padawans smiled at each other. Breaking a little the ice one could say. It was night time already and the group were able to find the tree that was present on the drawing, or at least one of them, assuming that there were more. After some bits of walking to the tree, with now the group standing under the tree, and analyzing it, for anything like signs of life, there was nothing, with a vague sense of dissapointment deep down from the Padawans.
"I don't see any signs of life." commented Bly as then Russel and Ahsoka immediately heard noise from up above the tree. A giant structure was falling for Bly.
"Watch out!" called out Russel as he pushed Bly out of the way and Ahsoka avoided one going for her as well, then more of these structures appeared falling next to the Clones, forcing the group to go to the other side of the tree with immediate action.
"No wonder its deserted!" said Ahsoka as the situation calmed down "It's a death trap! You'd have to be crazy to avoid those on the regular!" Russel then looked behind him and noticed a trail. It was dark, so he could hardly tell, but he was certain there was one.
"I think there is more to it. The drawing also illustrated a creature if I recall…" said Russel.
"Yes." Ahsoka confirmed "And?"
"There is a trail, likely created by them using the pods." said Russel pointing at it. Bly turned on his flashlight and it confirmed what Russel said "All we have to do is follow it." he stated as the group returned to running. After some more running, for say hours on end, by now, only the Force would know how long they have been running. An open field was shown to them and a noise was picked up. One of a quick and sudden rustling of leaves and heavy stomping, alongside a seemingly animalistic war cry. Without the Jedi realizing it, they pulled out their lightsabers, ready to face the threat. They couldn't see it, but the group was ready. Without even a split second delay, a grounded and giant sort of bird creature came out of the grass, but not just that, 2 more.
"Watch your left!" called out a Clone, as the bird grabbed that one, then two more immediately hit the Jedi, launching them away a great distance, and their lightsabers got knocked from their hands. With a moment of recovery, the Jedi noticed their Clones getting attacked, one of them even getting bitten by the neck, and recovered their lightsabers, about the same time as Bly getting back up and shooting the bird through the eye, killing it instantly, but then the other bird threw one of the Clones at Bly's direction and blinded him for a moment. As though their survival instinct kicked in, the other two birds ran the moment Russel and Ahsoka got back into the fight. Bly then pushed the Clone off of him and shook him, but no movement was displayed from the now dead Clone. Bly didn't need to check the others, he already knew their fate.
"Ugh, Cameron is dead. So are Lucky and Flash." said Bly as the Jedi checked on them. Russel then took in a big gulp, he knew he had to make a difficult choice, but he had to, about as difficult of a choice as knowing you have to kill someone because it's your only choice.
"We have to keep moving." said Russel as the now reduced group went back to running. They ran and ran for hours on end without stopping at full speed, to the point it went from night to day time. Afterwards, they were on a cliff and noticed a small village built with those same pods.
"Pod central." Ahsoka commented as both Jedi Padawans smiled "We made it." the group then went down the cliff and arrived at the village with many of the residents, which seemed to consist of monkey sort of creatures, noticing their presence and stepped away in fear as it seemed "Hello." said Ahsoka from the sudden awkward silence that possessed the village. The oldest of this new species to the Jedi came out.
"What have you come here for?" he asked, in a sort of hostile manner, as though he wasn't pleased with seeing the Jedi.
"We're just peacekeepers passing by, Jedi from the Galactic Republic. We've come in peace." said Russel.
"Violence breeds violence. Jedi are no peacekeepers." said the elder, pointing at the lightsabers.
"We're fighting for freedom." Ahsoka countered.
"And freedom and peace require fear and death." said the eldest, but Russel and Ahsoka looked at each other in a weirded manner, as neither used those particular tactics to win a battle against their enemies, especially since they were still Padawans, still learning a lot about many aspects of life and death "We colonized this system to find solace from your wretched war. We came here to find peace." said the elder, each line being spoken with what seemed to be wisdom of centuries "You'll only destroy what small amount of peace there is left in the galaxy. You'll only bring the destruction of us."
"But our involvement in the Clone Wars isn't relevant to this. We'll still need your help." she stated, as Russel thought about what he could say, for a brief moment he closed his eyes as he thought about what he could say, as Ahsoka continued "Our friends desperately need your help." then Russel opened his eyes.
"I'm afraid I need to do what's best for my people. We cannot help you." said the elder as he began to walk away.
"Please, just wait a moment." said Russel "Look, we can tell your society that your intentions are as clear as day." catching the Elder's attention, as he stopped walking.
'Great, I just had to open my big mouth. But its fine, I might find something.' Russel thought to himself.
"But we aren't interested in harming you nor getting you involved in the Clone Wars isn't in the interest of either side. But regardless, as peaceful individuals, you wouldn't leave someone behind right?" Elder then looked at Russel, with an internal conflict, this made Russel widen his eyes in realization.
'Yes, I can use this.' he said to himself.
"I mean look at this place, you all have done an amazing job at building a great community and you obviously have many years of experience. But even you have to admit that you wouldn't leave behind someone in need. All we'll do is get our friends healed and we leave." the Elder sighed and called forth someone, as they walked over.
"I cannot ignore a plea for help." said the Elder as Ahsoka smiled at him, and Russel smiled back "I'll send my son, Watu to help your friends. He's a healer, but only one Jedi may go with him. The other must stay, as insurance. We wouldn't want a surprise attack on our village or the kidnapping of our only healer." the Elder stated his conditions forth, and before action could take place, Russel kept a cool head.
'This is good, but I don't think its best to antagonize them, maybe we should go along with it.' Russel thought to himself.
"Alright, Bly and I will stay." Russel stated as he then looked at Ahsoka "And Ahsoka, you can go back." and before Ahsoka can respond.
"No!" the Elder called out "Clone and his blaster cannot stay." he said pointing at Bly "He must go with the other Youngling." he said as he then pointed at Ahsoka.
"Alright, I can go on my own." said Ahsoka, as she then looked at Russel "But are you sure?"
"Yes I am, I might get along with them." said Russel "You can bring our masters back." said Russel as Ahsoka nodded and began to leave but before doing so, Russel grabbed her arm "Just be careful."
"I will." Ahsoka responded with reassurance, as Russel let go of her, as she, Bly and Watu left the village. Russel in that mean time, took a deep breath, hoping everything goes according to plan. Russel was now resting in one of the pods as he analyzed many of the drawings present, curious on their history behind how these people coexist and where they got their ideology from. The Elder then walked over to Russel and gave him a cup.
"Here, it will restore your energy." he stated, and Russel accepted.
"Thanks." Russel responded "Mind if I ask your name?"
"Tee Watt Kaa." he responded.
"I'm Russel. Thanks for your help." he stated as Tee Watt Kaa began to walk away, and Russel was curious "You know, the Jedi didn't start the Clone Wars. We just want it to be over."
"My my, you are young and ignorant." said Tee Watt Kaa, as Russel momentarily shook his hand in a subtle fashion "And particularly emotional for a Jedi, but that's to expect from a Youngling." Tee Watt Kaa then looked directly at Russel "It doesn't matter who started, continues or ends the war, both sides are at fault for different reasons."
"But its for liberty…" said Russel.
"But is it worth killing for? Fighting for everything doesn't mean you have to kill everything or everyone. Did you think if you ever punched someone in the face it resolved the issues?" Russel then raised his eyebrow.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Russel asked with a subtle hint of anger.
"Exactly, I know what I am saying Russel." said Tee Watt Kaa "I have seen sides fighting, killing, putting fear into others, but neither side won or lost, they just made things worse for the other. The only true signs of peace is when both sides consider laying down their arms and agree to live together. But tell me Russel, what are you fighting for?" Russel felt his body shake with impatience, but he then realized what was happening, as he then shut his eyes tightly and sighed.
"Can I go somewhere eventually? To have some alone time." Russel asked as he drank.
"There is a nice mountain spot and you'll find some peaceful animals there." said Tee Watt Kaa as he left. All Russel did now was sit down and thought about what Tee Watt Kaa said. He wasn't exactly wrong, in his eyes yes, but the Jedi are fighting for peace. Everything Russel knew and grew up with, was being questioned and for good reasons. He eventually was done and he got out of the pod, as he then smiled when he saw Ahsoka arriving with their masters and Rex, all safe and sound. Russel then began to jog towards them as he then passed by Tee Watt Kaa.
"Told ya!" said Russel as he passed by the Elder.
"You know it doesn't respond to what I said." Tee Watt Kaa stated as Russel momentarily slowed down but then picked up the pace, as then the Jedi Masters were taken into one of the pods.
"Ahsoka!" he called out, as she eventually got out of the pod.
"Hey there. How are things?" she asked out of curiosity.
"More or less alright, but how are our masters?" Russel asked.
"They're getting treated." she stated as Russel looked into the pod, seeing Wag Too treating them, Russel was happy to know their masters are safe.
After some time, it was just Russel and Ahsoka in the outskirts of the village, admiring the view.
"You know Russel, you were right." said Ahsoka, though she doesn't realize what she said.
"What is it?" Russel asked.
"Well, if it weren't for you, we wouldn't have found this place." Ahsoka replied.
"I didn't do everything, you also contributed… and you weren't half bad." said Russel.
"Yeah… I can say the same thing for you…" said Ahsoka, until Russel widened his eyes at the compliment Ahsoka gave him, but then he smirked.
"I know, I'm awesome." Russel replied in a confident manner, but then Ahsoka got impatient and rolled her eyes "Hey, what's wrong?"
"You just had to act like that. Just arrogant." she said, showing her annoyed glare, and Russel raised an eyebrow.
"Um… Ahsoka…" Russel began.
"Yes?" she asked menacingly.
"Can I be honest about something?" Russel asked but then he said "You're kinda cute when annoyed." Ahsoka then got flustered until she got up and began to yell.
"YOU'RE AN IDIOT! IDIOT! IDIOT! IDIOT! IDIIIIIIIIIIIIIIOT!" Ahsoka screamed in anger, all from the fluster "ITS NOT CUTE YOU IDIOT! I'M BEING ANGRY AT HOW ARROGANTLY CUTE YOU ARE!" Ahsoka then stormed off leaving Russel surprised.
"She just called me cute…" Russel said as Ahsoka got out of view "And if I'm being honest, she kind of is cute as well." said Russel as the next thing he sees is a sort of phantom running past him. Seemed like a Jedi General running for his life and was shot a lot, but Russel didn't get a good look at his face, but he feels like recognized him based on the noises of panting and crying he made, but he couldn't confirm it, but then phantom disappeared, leaving Russel confused.
'Who was that?' Russel asked himself in thought.
To be continued