Hey everyone!
nw150: Always great to hear from you! I do think a majority of Kaminoans are bred to be scummy, but there have to be a couple of decent ones.
Okay, I'll be honest, the pacing on this chapter is off. It used to have another segment deemed unnecessary by my editors so what used to be two chapters became more like a chapter and a half. It still has some segments I like, but this is far from my best. I hope you enjoy regardless!
Mando'a translations at the end!
Explosions fractured Felucia's yellow sky and debris from the droid transports rained down. Another line of ships took their place. Ahsoka nodded to Jesse.
"Fire!" Jesse bellowed.
The AV-7s responded as if the cannons themselves had heard the order and not the clones controlling them.
With a thunderous clamor the line of droid transports blew apart.
Ahsoka held her hand up.
"Hold!" Jesse relayed.
The cannons stopped.
A new line of transports appeared and they started the process all over again.
"Eight waves and counting." Fives said. "You'd think they'd change up their approach."
"You know droids." Ahsoka said. "Even if it's broke, don't fix it."
She gave the signal and again the ships above burst into pieces.
"Nine." Fives said. "Good on our boys. Their aim is spot on today."
"They've been practicing." Ahsoka said with a nod to Jesse.
Only about half of the line were hit this time. Ahsoka cursed.
"You jinxed it." Tup told Fives.
He grinned sheepishly.
"Jesse, keep the cannons on the incoming ships." Ahsoka ordered. "Aran, do you have eyes on where they landed?"
"Yes, sir!" Their lookout said. "About one klick at five sixty-four."
"All right." Ahsoka said. "Fives, we're taking a platoon to intercept."
Fives saluted and jogged towards the group of waiting troopers.
"Sir!" Jump-up ran up to Ahsoka. "Transmission from General Skywalker, sir!"
Ahsoka followed the trooper to the communications tent.
"Anakin." Ahsoka said as soon as the blue figure appeared. "How are things on Coruscant?"
Anakin's scowl was evident even through the flickering holo.
"Everything is fine." He snapped.
Ahsoka raised an eyebrow. Anakin looked away and took a moment.
"How is the campaign progressing?" He finally asked.
"Master Secura's comms are being jammed." Ahsoka said. "We haven't had word from her or the 327th in three rotations. We have engaged an attack force we believe was en route to intercept the 327th."
"How many strong?"
"A few company's worth." Ahsoka said. "Nothing too bad, but if they had caught General Secura off guard, it could have been trouble. We managed to shoot most of the transport ships out of the sky and I'm about to lead a squad to take out the rest."
"Good." Anakin said. "And the rendezvous?"
"On schedule, if we take care of these clankers quickly."
"You're doing well, Ahsoka." Anakin said, pride evident in his voice. "The problems here shouldn't be much longer, but it looks like you don't need me."
"Thanks." Ahsoka said.
For a moment Ahsoka felt a hint of their previous relationship shine through. Then Anakin seemed to retreat again, letting the awkwardness that had formed between them return. Things had never been the same since she had left the Order. They still worked well together, and Anakin still worried like a mother gundark, but he still kept a distance. Gone was their easy banter and jokes.
At least she still had the men.
"Ahsoka." Fives had ducked in. "We're ready to move out."
"Good." Ahsoka said, then to Anakin, "I'll update you when we meet with General Secura if the comms hold."
"Good luck, Ahsoka." Anakin said.
The holo clicked off.
"First fight with your armor." Fives commented as Ahsoka followed him.
"The first sign of it slowing me down, it goes." She replied.
Ahsoka had finally relented to her men's two month long campaign to get her to wear armor. Ever since she had to rely less on the Force in battle, Kix especially had recommended the armor to make up for the loss.
It wasn't as bad as Ahsoka had thought it would be. It consisted only of a chest piece that went down to the bottom of her ribs, gauntlets, vambraces, greaves, and boots. All were white plasteel, decorated with 501st blue of course. They'd even managed to fashion a tunic for her similar to blacks.
She sometimes felt like a different person, especially now that her lekku were growing at an alarming rate.
Ahsoka flipped down the visor of the odd armored headdress they'd crafted. A HUD exploded into view. She grimaced. She'd practiced with it, and it was far less complicated than the clones', but it would take some getting used to. It was like pretending to have the Force; the information it gave her was more often what she normally would have been able to sense on her own.
The men stood ready in a crowd, waiting for instructions.
"Tup, take your squad and flank them from the northeast." Ahsoka ordered. "Appo, your squad will flank them from the south west. My squad will take the droids head on."
She was met with a chorus of 'sir yes sirs!" Tup and Appo immediately split off, followed by their squads.
"I suppose there's no point in ordering you to go with Tup's squad." Ahsoka said to Fives.
"None at all." Fives said cheerfully. "Unless you plan on going with them."
Ahsoka twisted her lips in a disapproving frown.
"You're supposed to follow my orders." She told him.
"Or what?" Fives asked as they led their troops forward. "You gonna turn me in to the Kaminoans?"
"Of course not!" Ahsoka said.
"That's right. We follow you for other reasons." He said with a grin. "So I feel pretty free to disobey those orders if it's for your own good."
"You're ruining the command structure." Ahsoka grumbled.
"Nah, the boys would never go against your word." Fives said.
"And what's your excuse?" Ahsoka challenged.
"I'm your friend." Fives said simply.
"So are most of the men." Ahsoka pushed an overly large flower aside.
"You're a commander first to them." Fives said. "You're my friend first."
Ahsoka looked at him and he grinned.
"Droids sighted!" Ridge said from behind them.
Ahsoka immediately focused on the group of droids around fifty meters ahead.
"Ready?" She asked the men.
She never had realized how useful a hands free comm was. And now she was connected to the men's private comm channel.
"Ready." Came the reply.
"Go go go!" Ahsoka ordered.
The squad surged forward and Ahsoka quickly broke into a run to keep ahead of them.
"Weren't there supposed to be more of us?" A droid asked.
"Now!" Ahsoka hissed.
The clones opened fire.
"Clones!" Another droid buzzed.
At least a dozen droids fell before the clankers started to return fire. Ahsoka ignited her electro staffs and batted away a few bolts. She pushed herself harder and leapt to the first clanker. She slammed her first staff up into the droid's head.
One. She counted before moving to the next. The staff had to be in contact with the droid for one second to completely fry their systems.
A clone died behind her. She didn't hesitate or flinch, but her heart tallied one more loss. She would have to make sure to find out who it was.
Ahsoka bludgeoned another droid's legs from under it and stamped on its head.
"Blast the Jedi!" A droid cried.
Ahsoka smirked as more blasters pointed her way.
"Is she a Jedi?" Another droid asked. "She doesn't have a light-"
The droid short circuited as Ahsoka slammed a staff to its head.
"Popper pop, Ahsoka!" Fives yelled.
A droid popper soared towards her. She adjusted her grip on her staff and whacked the sphere, driving it straight into the midst of the battle droids. It went off, crackling through at least a dozen battle droids.
"Fall back." Ahsoka said to her troops. "Now we've got their attention, keep them distracted until the others get here."
Immediately her men began backing up, making it seem they were laying cover fire in order to escape.
"After them!" A droid screeched.
Ahsoka deflected dozens of bolts meant for her men, but some would slip past her. With sickening thuds she heard men fall behind her. She had to step carefully over both the dead and wounded as she retreated.
With a maelstrom of blaster bolts, the two other squads burst from the sides. The startled droids didn't know where to shoot and within minutes all but a few lay as scrap. Ahsoka joined Fives and Tup to dispatch the final clankers.
"Clear." Ahsoka announced to her men.
A cheer went out among her men. They slapped each other on the backs and laughed. Ahsoka did not crack a smile. She felt sorely the missing troopers and the pain of the injured saturated the air. And this was a good battle.
Kix too had a somber, even worried aura as he approached her. She gave him a small nod and relief flooded the Force. He called to the other medics and they spread out amongst the foliage on a search for injured brothers.
Ahsoka watched them, thinking of what Jesse had confided in her. Kix had been told to leave the wounded on Umbara and now after every battle he was terrified he would be given the same order.
"Appo, take the men back to camp. Prepare for the march." She said. "Fives and I will help the medics."
"Yes, sir." Appo said and began barking orders to the celebrating men.
Fives silently followed Ahsoka after the medics. Ahsoka could feel there were few wounded among the dead and even fewer that would survive treatment. This was often the case for the after battle wounded. Any trooper well enough to cry out was often found by the medics before the battle was over.
"Kix!" She called as she came across a still breathing trooper.
His leg armor was scorched and he had a lump on the back of his head when Ahsoka removed his helmet.
"He must have hit his head as he fell." She told Kix, looking at the rocky terrain.
"Rather that than a bolt to the gut." Kix muttered.
Ahsoka left him to treat the trooper and moved again through the trees.
The next trooper she found was not as lucky.
He had gotten close enough for a blaster bolt to pierce his chest armor. He choked on his breath as she knelt next to him.
"Co-command-"
"Shh." Ahsoka said, pushing up her visor so he could see her eyes.
He was fading quickly. Ahsoka gave a tiny shake of her head to an approaching medic. This one was beyond them.
She eased his helmet off. His face was ashen. Gently Ahsoka tugged him into her arms. He stared at her, as if he'd never seen anything like her before.
"Com-" He tried again.
"Don't talk, Aiwha." Ahsoka said.
She knew this man, this boy. She had been there when he had painted his armor the week before.
"You did well." She told him. "You did your duty."
"Not-" He coughed out the words. "Good enough."
"No." Ahsoka said. "You helped win the day. You helped your brothers live."
Her words seemed to comfort him. He kept his eyes on her as his breathing became fainter.
"Go." Ahsoka said. "Go to your brothers."
The breathing stopped. He went limp in her arms. A light in the Force dulled. Not to nothing. She had thought before that when a life passed it disappeared in the Force. Now she saw that it slept, becoming a mere pinprick of its former brilliance. Then it would move further into the Force, never losing its identity. Ahsoka followed Aiwha's sleeping presence as far as she could. They always went so far away. She never could reach where they would stop. She prayed that he was with his brothers.
She became aware of a growing headache. She was pushing herself too far. She retreated with a final farewell.
She found Fives' hand on her shoulder when she came to herself.
"They're almost done." He said.
Ahsoka nodded. Fives looked at Aiwha for a moment before reaching down to close the boy's eyes. Too many pairs of those eyes had been closed by the war.
Ahsoka gently lowered the body down and stood up. Her head protested, but it wasn't debilitating. Her control was getting better.
"Can you sense any more, Commander?" Kix asked.
Ahsoka shook her head. All the pain in the area was localized in the group of wounded troopers the medics had gathered.
"How are you feeling, Commander?" Kix asked.
"I'm fine." Ahsoka lied.
She didn't want to deal with his disappointed glare if she told him she'd overexerted herself.
She watched the medics prepare the wounded, then gave one last look over the battlefield.
"Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la." She murmured.
Not gone, merely marching far away. It rang true to her.
The march was uneventful and the 327th was right at the rendezvous. Ahsoka frowned at the feeling of the camp. The troops were on edge.
One trooper caught sight of them and ran deeper into the camp. Other yellow clad clones stared, but other soldiers looked relieved as they watched the 501st approach.
"Commander Tano!"
Ahsoka watched as General Secura hobbled towards them on the arm of the trooper that had run off before. Her side was wrapped in bandages, and her skin mottled with purple bruises. A medic was trotting after them, shaking his head.
"I can walk, Bruise!" Aayla said sharply. "Commander Tano, I am glad that you are here."
"What's going on?" Ahsoka asked.
"Several of my troopers have gone missing on patrol." Aayla said. "As you have guessed, something in the area is blocking our comms. I had sent Bly- Commander Bly with some of my troops to see if they could find the source. We suspected a Separatist Base nearby."
Ahsoka nodded. Aayla's lekku were flicking with agitation.
"I cannot send more troops out, for fear of them meeting the same fate." Aayla went on. "I would lead a patrol myself, but I am injured. I was hoping that when you arrived-"
Ahsoka held up a hand.
"Fives, Jesse, round a patrol." She ordered. "Appo, you get the men settled."
"Yes, sir!" They said in unison.
"Thank you, Commander Tano." Aayla said. "I fear for what happened to my men."
"I would do the same." Ahsoka said. "I'll find out what happened."
"Allow some of my men to assist you." Aayla went on.
She spoke quickly into her comm and soon a half dozen 327th troopers came forward. Among them was the 327th resident ARC trooper.
"Axel can fill you in on where Bly and the others were searching." Aayla said, as Bruise hovered at her side. "Fine, Bruise, I will rest. Good luck, Commander."
Within twenty minutes Ahsoka led her large group of troopers in the Felucian jungle.
She hated this planet. The memories of being captured and taken away were still fresh, though it had happened years ago. She swore to herself that any disturbance in the Force would not be ignored. She kept staring into the trees, trying to catch any movement.
"Hey." Fives said as she jumped at a bird taking wing. "Are you okay?"
"Fine." Ahsoka said, peering harder into the undergrowth.
"It's okay." Fives said. "The 327th said they haven't seen any lizards for months. They scared the scum off."
"Maybe they've come back." Ahsoka said.
She winced as she tried to extend her senses further. Fives noticed.
"Calm down." He said. "Or I'll call Kix."
Ahsoka glanced back at Kix, who was bringing up the rear. She grimaced and withdrew her senses a bit. She tried to relax her shoulders.
"That's better." Fives said.
"Commander." Jesse approached her. "The area Commander Bly and his men were supposed to cover is huge. This might go faster if we split up."
Ahsoka frowned.
"The reason General Secura didn't send her own men was because they wouldn't have Jedi help." She said. "I don't like the idea of you going too far from me."
"If we don't rendezvous, then you'll know that we were in the right area." Jesse said.
"That's a terrible way to confirm that!" Ahsoka protested while Fives snorted.
"General Secura was just being cautious." Jesse said. "Besides, we know something's out there. We'll be prepared."
"I still don't like it." Ahsoka said.
"How about each group sends up a flare every ten minutes or so as an all clear message?" Fives suggested.
Ahsoka considered it. On one hand, she wanted her troopers as safe as possible. On the other, it would be more efficient that way, and they could find out what happened to Bly quicker.
"Fine." She said. "Every ten minutes."
"Every ten minutes." Jesse agreed.
He turned and called several troopers to him, including Kix and Deck. He met Ahsoka's gaze and nodded. She nodded back and led the remaining troopers in the same direction as before.
Every ten minutes for two hours a flare rose above the tree line and Ahsoka's group would do the same. Then Jesse's group missed one.
"Kriff!" Ahsoka cursed. "Come on, let's go!"
They moved in the direction Jesse's group had been as quickly as they could. Ahsoka's stomach twisted as they found no sign of the other troopers.
"What the hell happened?" Fives asked aloud as they searched. "How do you just lose a group of men like this?"
"Commander." Tup said. "I see something.
All of the men drew their blasters. Ahsoka was immediately by Tup's side, staring where he was facing.
"Scorch marks." He said, pointing.
The trees a few meters ahead of them were spattered with blackened patches. Ahsoka signalled to her men to move forward with caution. She stretched all her senses, trying desperately to find any other trace of her men.
There was a stream of cursing behind them. Ahsoka whirled to see Axel stumbling. He swore again, kicking at something in the undergrowth.
"Clanker." He said.
"Watch your step." Ahsoka relayed.
Now she was looking, she saw more droid parts. As they slowly spread out, it seemed half a platoon of the clankers was blasted apart in a half klick radius. But there was something strange-
"No clones." Fives said. "All these clankers, you think at least one of them would have gone down."
"Maybe our boys were able to ambush them." Axel suggested. "Not hard in this sort of place."
"But this wouldn't have delayed them like it did." Ahsoka mused. "Unless they were all injured. Then they wouldn't be able to move very far."
She continued pacing through the brush, looking from side to side.
"Commander!" Tup called. "Over here!"
Ahsoka hurried to his side. He held up a helmet, white with blue markings.
"One of ours." Tup said. "Sir, we don't leave our kit behind if we can help it."
"I know." Ahsoka said. "I'm starting to think they were captured."
A weight seemed to fall over the group. Ahsoka knew what they were all thinking. Capture was a clone's greatest shame and as good as death. A captured clone, even a captured Marshall Commander and acting Captain, even a whole group of clones, was not worth going in after. If the captives were lucky, they would be held at the same place as the original target. Then they could be rescued. If they were transported elsewhere, they were lost.
"There must be signs of the droids leaving." Ahsoka said. "They're not exactly careful."
It was Fives who found the trail of smashed plants and broken tree limbs that marked where the droids had either made their exit or entrance.
"Come on." Ahsoka said.
"Sir, shouldn't we go back and report?" Axel asked.
"I want eyes on where they took our men." Ahsoka said. "We won't go in."
She didn't say aloud that the faster they found the men, the less time the enemy would have to find that the clones wouldn't say anything. The faster they found the men, the less chance they would be executed or shipped off.
It wasn't long before a mass of grey broke up the oranges, teals, and greens of Felucia.
"Eyes on the base." Ahsoka said. "See anything?"
While Fives stared through his scope, Ahsoka concentrated. There were a little over a dozen life forms crowded in the building.
Ahsoka withdrew her senses before she was overwhelmed.
"They're definitely in there." Ahsoka said. "Let's get a little closer and see if we can't get a sight on the guards."
Fives nodded and the group moved forward slowly. Ahsoka stopped them with a hand signal. There were two droids patrolling just ahead. She gave another hand signal and Axel and Fives came to the front. Almost in unison the two ARCs slipped up to the unsuspecting droids. Ahsoka watched as they flipped out their vibroblades and jabbed them into the underside of the droids' heads.
"See anything else?" Ahsoka signalled.
Fives gave a shake of his head and beckoned. Ahsoka and the rest of the group joined them.
"There's the entrance." Fives muttered to her. "No other guards. I'm thinking most of the clankers are inside, dealing with Jesse's group."
"Let's hope they are. Come on." Ahsoka said.
"Sir, look!" Fives said.
He was pointing to a large satellite looking machine attached to the side of the building.
"That must be boosting their comm jammers." Fives said.
"Set charges." Ahsoka ordered.
Axel and Fives jogged over to the disc and planted several explosives around the base of it. They came back and Axel lifted the detonator.
"Wait!" Ahsoka hissed. "We need to get the prisoners out."
"Sir, this is our chance to get communications back up." Axel said. "That's more important than the prisoners."
"We have a chance to get them out." Ahsoka replied. "I'm not going to pass it up. If we blow that thing now, the enemy will know we're here, and they'll be all but lost."
Ahsoka could tell Axel was frowning, but he lowered the detonator.
"Yes, sir." He said.
Ahsoka led them back to the main entrance. She didn't think she could sense the droids; it was always a gamble when they were involved.
Axel sliced into the door panel and within a minute it slid open. They all filed in, blasters at the ready. There was no sign of the enemy.
"I don't like this." Tup muttered.
"The men are this way." Ahsoka jerked her head towards a lift.
They got about halfway through the hallway before there was a soft click. Ahsoka's mind barely registered it, but her body had thrown her forward before she knew what was happening. A familiar warbling noise hit her montrals. She skidded from her dive and whirled around. Ray shields had dropped around her men.
Ahsoka cursed.
"Are you all right?" She asked.
"We're fine." Fives said. "Sir-"
Ahsoka whipped her head around at the sound of marching clankers.
"Blow it." She said.
Axel hit the detonator and the hallway shook from the explosion. It did not affect the ray shields.
"Give me a minute-" Ahsoka said, glaring at the emitter.
"We don't have a minute!" Tup said.
The droids had rounded the corner, led by an imposing figure in dark armor. Ahsoka drew her electrostaffs and ignited them.
"Drop your weapons." The figure said in a woman's voice.
Ahsoka bared her teeth at the woman.
"Do you really think you can deflect all these bolts?" The woman sounded amused. "Not one will hit the men?"
Ahsoka could hear Axel's voice muttering into a comm. Good. They could get General Secura here. This woman seemed too interested in taking prisoners.
"Ahsoka-" Fives said in a warning tone.
Ahsoka dropped her staffs. They clattered to the floor and shut off. She raised her hands to the back of her head.
"Commander!" Tup said.
"It'll be fine." Ahsoka said.
She kept her eyes level with the eye slit of the woman's helmet. The woman raised her hand.
"No!" Ahsoka shouted.
It was only the blue rings of stun bolts that flew past her and struck her men. She still winced at the sound of plasteel hitting the ground.
"I'll do what you want." Ahsoka said quickly. "Just don't hurt them."
Ahsoka was confident she could placate this woman for a few hours with false information until Aayla got there.
The woman removed her helmet, revealing the face of a Falleen. She looked Ahsoka up and down.
"Interesting." She said. "Put these with the others. I will interrogate this one myself."
A droid jabbed Ahsoka in the back to propel her forward. Ahsoka took one final look behind her at her men being dragged along the ground before she was forced into a lift with the Falleen woman.
Ahsoka frowned. There was something about this woman. She could feel the Force combat an effect she somehow had over Ahsoka. She was powerfully built and exuded an aura of confidence. Ahsoka found herself staring at the woman.
Finally Ahsoka was shoved into a room that looked like the main control room. Ahsoka scanned the room, looking for any clue for the purpose. One machine in the corner was familiar: a communications jamming device. Aayla was correct. The droid jabbed a blaster into her back.
"On your knees!" It droned.
Ahsoka obliged.
The Falleen woman strode in after her and stood before Ahsoka. She approached the tactical droid overseeing the room.
"Tell me," She said to the droid. "What prize have I caught myself today?"
"One moment, Commander Syv." The tactical droid buzzed. "Accessing Republic Enemy facial recognition software."
It buzzed for a moment and Ahsoka felt anxiety twist her stomach.
"This is Commander Ahsoka Tano. Ex-Jedi." The droid said. "Priority level: five."
"Five?" Syv said in surprise.
She turned and gave a wolfish grin to Ahsoka. She stalked up to Ahsoka and took her chin, lifting Ahsoka's face.
"A prize indeed." She purred.
Ahsoka jerked her head out of Syv's grip and Syv laughed.
"You will bring me great favor with Count Dooku." She said. "And the credits won't hurt either."
Ahsoka glared at her captor. Priority level: five? She didn't really know what each level entailed, but she would assume someone like Anakin or even Master Yoda would be the highest level. Not some ex-Jedi Commander.
Ahsoka smiled to herself. It didn't matter. This woman had brought her right where she wanted to be. One enhanced Force push and it was over.
Syv looked at her and smiled.
"We are currently being watched by the guards in the holding cells." She said. "Any move from you and they will execute the prisoners."
Ahsoka cursed herself. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. It never was. What was she thinking, getting herself caught like this?
No, she knew what she had been thinking. She had had her promise to Rex ringing in her montrals, like it did every time her men were in danger. That combined with her love for her men made it so there was little choice for her.
And now it had gotten her and her men captured. Aayla was likely on her way, but Ahsoka got a bad feeling about this woman's intentions for her. Her men were alive, but what would be done with her?
Ahsoka was having a hard time regretting her decision.
"Prepare the shuttle." Syv said. "She must be transported as soon as possible."
Ahsoka winced as the droids dragged her to her feet. This was going from bad to worse. She had no idea why the Separatists wanted her so badly, but it couldn't be good. Not only that, she couldn't be separated from her men. They were her priority. There was no way Aayla could be here in such a short amount of time.
Ahsoka cast her senses out as she was marched away. There were her men, huddled in one spot deeper in the base. Of course there was Syv behind her. Ahsoka frowned. There was a third presence. It felt like a clone, though something was wrong with it. It definitely wasn't one of her men.
Ahsoka was taken to the shuttle bay. It held a single shuttle and half of her guard left her to prepare it. Ahsoka had the odd feeling that she was being watched. The strange clone presence was near.
She heard a soft thud behind them. The droids hadn't noticed. Ahsoka barely flinched as one of the droid's heads was torn roughly from its body.
"Hey!" The other cried, but the newcomer tackled it and stabbed it through the head with a vibro blade. In a smooth motion it ripped the arm holding a blaster off the droid and shot the two returning from the shuttle.
Ahsoka got a good look at her rescuer. It was a clone, dressed in scratched yellow and white armor. The armor was covered in tally marks, far more than Rex ever had. The shape of the helmet was odd, more Mandalorian than the Phase II helmets her men wore. The visor glowed blue.
The clone clicked the trigger of the blaster he was holding, droid arm still attached.
"Damn." He said. "Only good for a few shots."
He turned to her.
"We should probably get out of here, ma'am." He said. "I'm good with a vibro blade, but not good enough to take down all of the clankers in here."
He punctuated his sentence with an odd giggle.
"Hold on." Ahsoka said. "Who are you? How did you get here?"
"CC-5576-39. Captain Gregor of Foxtrot Squad." He said. "As for how I got here, I don't remember at the moment. I'll let you know when it comes back to me. We should really get going."
He giggled again.
Ahsoka stared at the droids scattered around her and felt dread freeze her stomach. It was extremely likely that her men would suffer for her freedom.
"She has my men." Ahsoka said. "I can't just run off with you."
"We won't be leaving the base, ma'am." Gregor said. "Please, just follow me."
Well, there was nothing she could do now. She was free, like it or not. She followed Gregor to a ventilation shaft embedded in the wall.
"Lucky they need such big shafts." Gregor said cheerfully. "Otherwise I'd have gotten stuck and starved until I did fit."
He cracked open the grating and gestured inside. Ahsoka didn't hesitate going in. She heard the clatter of armor as Gregor followed her. He gave her instructions as they crawled through, though sometimes he immediately amended them.
"Okay, this will be the last right, I mean left!" Gregor said with a laugh after ten minutes of crawling.
Ahsoka did as he said and found another grate.
"Go ahead and go through. The door's sealed." Gregor said.
Ahsoka pushed through the grate into a small, dark room. It was little more than a closet. Ahsoka stood and peered through the darkness. There was a pile of ration bars and wrappers in one corner, along with a few containers of water. In another corner was a pile of droid blasters.
"Scooch a little, ma'am." Gregor said.
Ahsoka backed up and let Gregor in. He scooted back and switched a light on his helmet. He removed his bucket and placed it on the floor, illuminating the room. His face was familiar of course. His hair was far from regulation, falling in waves to his shoulders. Beyond that, there was little to separate him from his brothers.
"Ah, this place was not meant for two." He muttered, once again laughing a little. "Anyway, I'm CC-5576-39. Captain Gregor of Foxtrot squad."
Ahsoka blinked at him. His face fell a little.
"Did I- tell you that already?" He asked.
Ahsoka nodded.
"Har'chaak." Gregor muttered. "I can remember Rav'buir's favorite caf blend but I can't remember telling someone my name five minutes ago."
"You said you couldn't remember how you got here?" Ahsoka asked.
"Maybe a little." Gregor said. "I've got, well, I think I've got a brain injury. Can't remember a lot of recent stuff. I remember Kamino and a lot of missions, but anything past a certain point is dodgy. Right now all I know is that there was an explosion, I hid inside a shuttle, and it brought me here."
"Do you know what happened to you to make you like this?" Ahsoka asked.
"Not right now. I'll probably remember in a little while." Gregor said.
"What's with the pile of blasters?" Ahsoka asked. "Why didn't you use them?"
"These are experimental droids." Gregor said promptly. "Their guns are coded to the droids so that they stop working when the droid is deactivated or the gun is taken away. I've been trying to see if I can override the programming. Don't have much in the way of tools, though. And sometimes I forget what's wrong with them."
He sounded frustrated, but then turned to her with a smile.
"I forgot to ask your name." He said.
"I'm Ahsoka Tano." Ahsoka said.
"I'll try to remember." Gregor said with another chuckle. "What's your rank?"
Ahsoka frowned.
"You can just call me Ahsoka."
"Rav'buir raised me to be respectful." Gregor said stubbornly. "Your rank?"
Ahsoka sighed.
"Commander."
Gregor grinned and stuck out his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Commander Tano." He said.
Ahsoka shook his hand. He was odd, this clone. He kept giving giggles at the end of his sentences, and there was something strange in his eyes. But he seemed pleasant enough and quite willing to give Ahsoka a hand.
"You've mentioned a Rav'buir twice now." She said. "Buir is parent in Mando'a, right?"
She'd never heard any clone use buir. She'd only learned it from her external Mando'a study.
Gregor puffed out his chest proudly.
"Rav Bralor, my trainer on Kamino." He said proudly. "The best of the Cuy'val Dar. Skirata's boys will say he's the best, but they're kidding themselves."
"She let you call her buir?" Ahsoka asked, surprised.
Her limited knowledge of the training on Kamino had led her to believe most of the trainers were cruel and strict.
"Rav'buir loves us." Gregor said proudly. His face fell. "She probably thinks I'm dead."
"Well, we can get you out of here and you can contact her." Ahsoka said. "But first we need to figure out what this place is for, take out that comm jammer, and rescue my men."
"That's a tall order." Gregor said. "Even with me."
Ahsoka frowned, but he was right. Ahsoka still could only barely use the Force and her only ally was an erratic clone.
"I think I know what this place is for." Gregor said slowly. "I just can't remember right now."
"Will you eventually?" Ahsoka asked.
Gregor nodded.
"Given enough time." He said.
"I guess all we can do is wait then." Ahsoka said.
She settled down onto her haunches. Gregor stayed standing and leaned against the wall. His face was contorted with concentration.
They had been sitting there maybe five minutes before a loud voice blared into the room.
"Tano, one clone has been executed for your escape." It was Syv's voice. "You have one hour to turn you and your little rat of an ally in before I kill the rest."
The intercom fell silent. Ahsoka's stomach twisted. It wasn't a bluff. The group of troopers were one less. She concentrated. She couldn't tell if it was one of her men or one of the 327th.
She would grieve later. They needed to figure something out.
"They know about you?" Ahsoka asked.
Gregor shrugged.
"Kind of." He said. "The first few days I ran around killing as many droids as I could. Then I stopped to make them think I starved to death or something. I've been watching them ever since."
"You revealed yourself to rescue me." Ahsoka said. "Why?"
"That woman is obsessed with proving herself to Dooku." Gregor said. "I figured you must be pretty important if she was sending you off."
Ahsoka nodded and stared at her hands.
"I think we should target the communications device." Gregor said. "I'm assuming you have more than two dozen troopers on your side; we can contact the rest of your forces."
"That's true. General Secura could be here very quickly."
"General Secura, eh?" Gregor said. "Are the rumors true about her and her Commander?"
"Bly?" Ahsoka asked. "What about them?"
"That they're- you know-" Gregor gestured with his hands.
Ahsoka stared at him.
"In a relationship?" She guessed.
Gregor smirked.
"Not the word I'd use, but sure."
"I really doubt it." Ahsoka said. "You don't know General Secura. She gave me my first real attachment lecture. Besides, I'm pretty well versed in clone gossip and I haven't heard that one."
"I'm assuming you're 501st based on that tattoo." Gregor said. "You're the biggest rumor mill in the GAR, but you don't take as much as you give rumor wise. Rex makes sure of that."
"You know Rex?" Ahsoka asked, perking up.
"Old friend." Gregor said with a wave of his hand. "We used to serve together in the 212th before Skywalker got promoted and pulled him to the 501st."
Ahsoka blinked. She had forgotten that Anakin had started the war as Obi Wan's Commander.
"We're getting off topic. If we go straight for the communications device we risk getting my men killed." Ahsoka said.
Gregor frowned.
"There's only a dozen or so men in there. This place is important and we need to take it. It's a risk we need to take."
"No." Ahsoka said firmly. "They are the priority."
"Begging your pardon ma'am, but the point of clone troopers is that we aren't a priority. We can be ignored to take the bigger threat out."
"Maybe to other leaders, but not to me." Ahsoka said. "And I bet Bralor would agree."
Gregor rubbed the back of his head.
"Probably." He admitted. "Then what do you propose we do?"
Ahsoka frowned, then blinked as she sensed something.
"They're moving my men." She said. "They're not together anymore. What are the cameras like?"
"If they had decent surveillance, it wouldn't have taken them three days to figure out why droids kept getting scrapped." Gregor replied. "The only decently covered places are the holding cells, shuttle bay, and command center."
"Is there a centralized surveillance room?" Ahsoka asked.
"Yes." Gregor raised an eyebrow. "You're saying we should take out the surveillance droids?"
"I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier." Ahsoka said. "Then we hit the command center."
"Should work." Gregor said.
"Have you got an extra vibro blade?" Ahsoka asked.
"Wouldn't be much of a Commando if I didn't have at least three on me." Gregor replied. "Though, I suppose I'm not much of a Commando for losing my gun in the first place."
Ahsoka shrugged and accepted his proffered blade.
"You're an odd sort of Commander." Gregor said. "The only ones I know are clones, Jedi, or old military veterans. I'd say you're a Jedi, but you actually wear armor and you don't have a saber."
"I used to be a Jedi." Ahsoka said. "I stayed for my men."
"Well then, Commander Ex-Jedi, shall we?" Gregor gestured to the vent.
"Let's go." Ahsoka said with a nod.
Mando'a:
Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la: Not gone, merely marching far away. In reference to those who have died.
Har'chaak: Damn it
Rav'buir: Mama Rav
buir: parent
Lots of notes on this one. Mostly this segment is to explore Ahsoka's relationship with the men who are not Rex. Her relationship with Anakin is also deteriorating, due to Anakin's conflict about Palpatine and Ahsoka leaving the Order. And yes, Anakin is dealing with the Rush Clovis arc from season 6 at the moment. Fives calls Ahsoka by her name because she has become more than a Commander to him, much like he says in the chapter. Unlike in the Fives Effect, Fives relationship with Ahsoka here is purely platonic.
A little bit of rework of what the canon claims about death. I totally reject the notion that people just hook back up with the Force and basically lose who they were. That's stupid and disproven by canon. We have Force Ghosts, yes, but we only know of five who have learned to do that: Qui Gon, Anakin, Obi Wan, Yoda, and Luke. Yet we have instances in Rebels, where Ezra feels the presence of both his parents and *spoilers* Kanan. Later on, Leia describes remembering Padme even though Padme was dead Leia's entire life, implying that Leia felt Padme's presence. In the Sequels, Ben Solo has a moment very his dead, very not force sensitive father and then apparently ALL of the Jedi, including one who did not learn to be Force Ghosts, speak to Rey. And also the fact that in the current description of canon, dead loved ones do not get to reunite (i.e. ALL THE CLONES) and that just rubs me the wrong way. So here's my explanation. You die and most of you returns to the Force. However, there is a part of you, your identity, that persists and gets to dwell with other identities deep in the Force. It is possible, but HIGHLY difficult to communicate with these identities. That's what I'm trying to show with Aiwha and Ahsoka's experience with his death.
Aayla is trying very hard to pretend she is not married to Bly. Not everyone is fooled. Got some clone OCs in here, mostly Axel, which was too cool a name to not be an ARC. Syv is also an OC, just a quick Bounty Hunter type who thinks Dooku is all that and a bag of chips and is smart enough to use the clones against Ahsoka.
And GREGOR! I wrote this chapter before the Bad Batch episode starring him came out. I went back and adjusted some of his tendencies to better match the show, but if he feels off, it's because of that. My theory is that Gregor just has had too many concussions. If it's not clear, after the explosion and his like twentieth concussion, the droids thought he was dead, so he snuck aboard a shuttle with some of the fuel and was brought here. He's been running around ever since with some memory problems. He'll get a bit better fixed up after and get to where we see him in the Bad Batch. His Commando trainer, Rav Bralor, is from the Republic Commandos book series. She's a Mandalorian who shared Kal Skirata's beliefs about the clones, i.e. that they should be sons. Which is correct.
Again, sorry if this chapter feels off. I just moved up to school and I really haven't had the time to comb through it. I hope you still enjoy!
As always, wear your masks, remember to review, and have a great few weeks!