Hello, everyone! We've got quite the lengthy chapter today. Which is funny because it did not take that long to edit.

ZabuzasGirl: Thank you!

OneLittleSpark18: As much as that compliment makes me blush, the question is, who will make the Star Wars for me? But yeah August needs to hurry up and get here.

4thwallbreak: I don't know what to say without spoiling the chapter…but I will say that nothing horrific happens. You're probably terripressed.

Imaginationflies: Do not feel bad if you get them at all confused. My poor editors have to ask basically every week if this is the fic that 'EVENT' happened in. I'm glad that it's mostly clear! (I am really sorry this week is going to make it harder) Honestly I wish Gek was canon too. I want him to tell everyone that they suck and that he's going home. I'm so pleased that you like Taja and Tech. I'm always nervous when writing OC/canon. I am also impatient for them to rescue Omega, but that's my own fault. Ah I'm just so pleased that you like it so much! Enjoy today's chapter!

All right, here we go!

Mando'a translations at the end!

ABSOLVED: Chapter 28

The Marauder was silent. Hunter watched what remained of his family stare into space as Fives piloted them. Tech would have never let Fives fly the Marauder. Tech wasn't here and the rest of the Batch were too distracted with their own thoughts.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. If it was during the war, Wrecker should have been telling Crosshair how he was going to top his score and Crosshair should have been goading him on. Tech should have been spouting some fact about their destination while Echo went over the details of their mission out loud.

And if was after the war-

Omega should have been there with her questions, laughter, and even her singing the songs she'd heard from the regs.

Now there was just angry, fearful silence.

Hunter was a man that appreciated the quiet. His enhanced senses made it easy for him to be overwhelmed.

But not- this, this toxic emptiness as they all imagined what was being done to Tech.

They'd had few interactions with slavers. But those interactions had been preluded by Tech's extensive research. He then told them everything that the slavers were capable of.

All of it was likely being tested on Tech now.

Hunter clenched his fists. They would not lose another. He was glad to feel anger begin to replace his fear. That was good. He could use anger. Fear at that level helped no one.

Hunter looked up as Wrecker suddenly got to his feet and went to their supply locker. He rummaged for a moment before pulling out a pair of Tech's spare goggles.

"What are you-" Hunter started.

"What if they broke them?" Wrecker said. "And he hasn't been able to see this whole time? He'll want them."

Hunter nodded. With an unusual tenderness, Wrecker placed the goggles in his pack.

"Hey!" Fives called with a harsh, angry voice. "We're approaching Ladarra!"

The ARC trooper was just as eager as the Batch to get those captives freed. He had close brothers among them.

Crosshair got up immediately, followed closely by Echo. Wrecker straightened. They all looked at Hunter.

"We don't have Commander Tano's plan." Hunter said. "We can't just rush into a situation that got General Skywalker and Tech captured."

Crosshair scowled, but to Hunter's relief, he didn't say more. Hunter knew his agitation. He had it too. But they didn't know enough about the situation to go in ramikadyc, as Echo would say. The Mando'a term fit their usual approach to missions pretty well.

Hunter heard the comm in the cockpit go off and was halfway to it before Fives answered. The first vibration of a voice hit his ears and he knew it was Commander Tano.

"What's the plan?" He asked, cutting her off.

The others had crowded in behind him.

"Admani said that Anakin's squad was overwhelmed by troops coming from the base." Commander Tano said. "Rex and I will lead a squad to recreate that and make the Zygerrians think they can overwhelm us. Vaughn will bring in the rest of our forces once we draw enough of them out."

"What's our role in all of this?" Hunter asked.

"Your squad and Fives will infiltrate the actual base." Commander Tano said. "Find and free the prisoners while a majority of the enemy is distracted. Get those fit to fight armed and stop any retreat."

Hunter nodded. A solid plan. He was grateful that Commander Tano was having them free the prisoners. She likely knew that Crosshair at least would resent or disregard any orders that kept him from finding Tech.

"Wait for my signal to go in." Commander Tano said. "Understood?"

"Yes, sir." Hunter said.

The comm clicked off. Hunter turned to his squad.

"Any questions?" He asked.

He received none. All he got were three serious gazes, determined to save their brother.

Hunter knew there was something off the moment he rushed out of the Marauder into Ladarra's sunlight. The ground felt odd beneath his feet. It was if the vibrations caused by their feet traveled only so far before- hollowness. He nearly turned to ask Tech about the planet.

Instead he opened his comm.

"Commander, there's something under this base." He said.

Commander Tano cursed.

"It's probably a mine." She said. "Kriffing Zygerrians, that's why they picked this planet."

"Any change of plans?" Hunter asked.

"No. This just makes your part more complicated. We should be fine up here."

"Acknowledged." Hunter said. "Good luck."

He shut the comm off and relayed the information to his squad. He noticed Fives' look of disgust.

"What's wrong?" Hunter asked.

"It's just that those bastards don't change." Fives said. "Rex was in one of their mines for a few days. I was there when he was treated."

He looked at Hunter.

"Be ready for some- residual effects when you get Tech back." He said.

"Fives." Echo said in a stern tone.

"You weren't there, Echo." Fives said. "They need to be prepared."

Wrecker looked stricken while Crosshair glowered with rage. Hunter took a deep breath, thankful for the mission. His dread was easier to deal with when he had a goal.

"We'll deal with it." He said. "But first we gotta actually get him back. To do that we need to get into position."

Hunter could hear the moment Commander Tano's squad engaged the enemy. He listened carefully as they snuck up on the base. He could hear clones shouting, Zygerrians snarling, and a few slaves screaming. But no sign of Tech.

Echo scomped into the back entrance of the squat building.

"I've got the schematics." He said as the door opened. "The majority of the captives are likely in the actual mines."

"Lead the way." Hunter ordered.

Echo led them through what Hunter assumed was the back ways of the base. They saw one Zygerrian, which Crosshair took out before the slaver could register their presence. Hunter could hear the others rushing through other halls.

"This place is creepy." Wrecker muttered as they passed through a room lined with large, coffin-like containers. "What are those?"

"Stasis chambers." Echo said immediately. He was focused on the door at the far side of the room. "Let's go."

"Wait," Fives said. "What if there are people in there?"

"You think the Zygerrians wouldn't just pull them out and make them slaves?" Echo said.

Hunter was glad that Fives didn't say anything more and just let them continue. If there were people in there, they could wait. As much as he knew that Echo suffered in one of those things, it was less urgent than the beings below. Especially the one being.

Echo jabbed his scomp into another port, opening a door that led to a long set of stairs, surrounded by rock.

"The original entrance to the mine, before they got the lifts put in." Echo said.

The air chilled almost immediately as they started down the rickety metal stairs. The steps creaked badly as Wrecker stepped on them, but they held. Hunter focused on the noises he could now hear echoing from below. Shouts, rock clattering, the sound of sizzling electricity. He could differentiate them more and more as they grew closer.

"Stay where you are, skugs!"

"Keep working!"

"You will release her immediately."

Hunter sucked in a sharp breath. A quieter voice, but easy to pick out because he knew it so well. Tech.

Hunter heard the laughter of a Zygerrian and then- electricity and choked noises of pain that Hunter knew belonged to Tech.

Heart pounding, he signaled them to go faster.

As they drew close to the bottom, an angry scream cracked through the air, loud enough for them all to hear.

"You bastards!"

Hunter realized it was Taja Desai's voice. Hunter heard a thud and faint snap.

The Zygerrians were shouting again, too loud to clearly tell what was happening. Hunter and his squad had reached the entrance and he could see a cavern lit with cold, artificial light. Hunter signaled to Crosshair and Wrecker, indicating where they would find Tech. Crosshair gave a nod and readied his rifle. Hunter motioned for Fives and Echo to head the opposite direction and clear out the guards.

Listening to his brother's ongoing grunts of pain, Hunter gave the signal.

In a rush the squad burst onto a balcony overlooking the mine proper. Hunter almost immediately found Tech. Their brother was rigid on the ground, electricity sparking from a collar on his neck. He was surrounded by three guards, one of which was forcing Taja Desai to the ground with a blaster to her head. Another guard lay motionless with their head at an awkward angle.

Before Hunter could open his mouth to give the order, Crosshair had whipped up his rifle. Three shots rang out. The three guards dropped to the ground. Tech fell still.

"Get to him!" Hunter snapped at Wrecker and Crosshair.

They were already moving. The other guards, luckily only a few dozen that Hunter could see, had caught sight of them. Good. Their squad could take blaster bolts far better than the slaves could.

Trusting the others to find their own way down, Hunter leapt from the balcony. He twisted in the air and rammed his vibroknife into the side of the rocky wall. The blade cut through the stone, forced down by his weight, but it slowed him enough to leap safely to the ground. He tackled the first Zygerrian he saw and plunged the knife into the man's chest. He ripped it free as his enemy went limp and fired a few rounds at the nearest pair of guards. They dropped.

Some of the slaves that Hunter could see were shrinking, afraid. But others- clones, far more than the squad General Skywalker brought with him, were perking up.

Hunter grabbed the blaster from the Zygerrian he had stabbed and tossed it to the nearest clone.
"You want to get out of here?" He asked.

The clone, a spark of life coming into his dull eyes, nodded. Hunter glanced to the bodies of the two guards he'd shot, but their weapons had been raided by a few other clones. Hunter stepped closer to carve the lock off of the shock collar around the clone's neck.

"Get your brothers free." Hunter said, handing him the knife. "Go give 'em hell. But I want that back."

The clone grinned and turned on the approaching guards. Hunter stayed long enough for the first wave to be dispatched, before turning and running to Tech.

Wrecker was already there, his hands hovering over Tech like he was afraid to touch him. Hunter skidded to his knees at Tech's side. He barely registered Taja Desai, who had crawled close to them.

"Tech." Hunter said.

Tech's eyes flickered open and stared at Hunter for a moment. Then he closed them again and relaxed with a sigh. Hunter tensed, but Tech's chest was rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

"Get that thing off of him." He said to Wrecker.

Wrecker, instead of using his vibroknife, pried the shock collar apart. Hunter grimaced at the burned flesh on Tech's neck. Wrecker, after a pause, reached over and crushed the lock on Taja Desai's collar.

"Thank you." Desai said. "Be- be careful of his back."

Hunter glanced over at her, noting the burnt, bloody stripes on her own. Tech's would likely be no better. Wrecker, with a gentleness that always surprised Hunter, fitted his hands under Tech's neck and legs and lifted him.

"I've got you." Wrecker muttered.

"Wrecker." Crosshair's voice surprised Hunter. Their brother had been nearby, laying down coverfire and taking out as many guards as he could see. "Get him out."

Wrecker glanced at Hunter, who shook his head.

"We need to wait for word from Commander Tano." Hunter said. "They're still fighting up there. It's likely to be safer down here for now."

He could almost see Crosshair's scowl under his bucket. Crosshair fired a few more times, but from what Hunter could see, it wasn't needed. Echo and Fives had rallied the enslaved clones and most, if not all, of the slavers were dead.

Crosshair lowered his rifle and moved back to Hunter and the other's position. Then, to Hunter's shock, Crosshair bent over and offered a hand to Taja Desai. The Togruta stared at him before taking it. Crosshair hauled her to her feet.

"Nice work." Crosshair said, nodding to the body of the guard with the broken neck.

"Maybe now you'll stop doubting my intentions towards your brother." Taja said.

Her words were strong, but Hunter could see she was at her limit. Her hands shook and she didn't look Crosshair in the eyes.

Crosshair didn't respond to Desai beyond a slight shrug. It was as good as an apology.

Hunter listened carefully, finding that the shots in the cavern had died down. They were replaced with orders and quiet assurances. They'd won this fight, but there was still the battle above. So they waited for Commander Tano to give the all clear to take their brother home.

"Are you okay?" Fives demanded.

Jesse chuckled as Tup smacked away Fives' attempts to check the wounds around his neck.

"You'll get the same when Kix gets down here." Tup said.

The two had slumped down with exhaustion after the last guard had been dispatched. Both were bruised and burned. Tup's hair was matted and dirty.

Echo had taken some of the less abused clones to guard the entrances. Fives couldn't help but stay behind and make sure Jesse and Tup were okay.

"Just give me a moment." Tup said. "I'll be back up."

Fives noticed his brother's eyes flick to his water canteen.

"No, you don't." Fives said, handing Tup the flask. "Share this with Jesse. I'll go handle rounding up everyone."

Tup didn't reply. He was busy gulping down about half of the water. But he stopped just as quickly and handed the bottle to Jesse. Fives watched them for a moment more, concerned. And then he remembered.

"Where's General Skywalker?" He asked.

Tup's brow immediately furrowed.

"We don't know." He said. "We were knocked unconscious during the first battle. We haven't seen him since."

That was a problem. Fives grit his teeth. Perhaps Ahsoka could help with that. For now, he should get the wretched prisoners organized.

He patted Tup on the shoulder, and winced as his brother flinched. Then he turned to look out over the cavern. The brothers here, brothers that he still wasn't sure where they came from, had managed to group together fairly well. The other captives were scattered, staring at the newcomers with untrusting eyes.

Fives took a deep breath. He wished Kix was down here, or that Jesse or Tup were up to help. Hell, he would have taken Rex. Fives himself wasn't always the best with scared civvies. He'd do his best.

He slowly approached the first slave he saw: a frightened adolescent Sullustan.

"Hey." He said in the gentlest voice he could manage. "Can I see your neck?"

The Sullustan stared at Fives before tilting their neck enough for Fives to jab their collar with the release tool he'd grabbed from one of the guards' corpses. The collar came undone with a hiss and the Sullustan ripped it off.

"There we go." Fives said. "Now, go gather who you can to the middle of the cavern. We're getting out of here, and we want to make sure that we don't miss anyone."

To his relief the Sullustan nodded and scurried off. Fives watched them go. One down, many more to go.

As soon as it became known that Fives was removing collars, it was a lot easier to gather the remaining slaves. An older Ithorian became very excited when they saw Fives, garbling in Ithorese. Fives couldn't make heads or tails of it, as it seemed the Zygerrians had broken their translator, but he got the message when the Ithorian gathered him up in a tight hug.

"You're welcome." He said when they let go. "Now, do you know if there's anyone else who needs their collar off?"

The wizened Ithorian boomed out what sounded like an affirmative and tugged on Fives' hand. Fives glanced back at the group he'd gathered. Hunter had appeared out of nowhere with a few other clones and had started cutting off collars. He seemed to be managing it, so Fives let himself be led away by Ba'buir Ithorian.

Fives was trying to remember how one told Ithorian genders apart, when Ba'buir Ithorian pointed and rumbled something. Fives followed her finger to see a small group of beings huddled away from the rest. These had been here a long time, Fives could tell. Their clothes were in rags and there were deeper scars under the fresh wounds of captivity. They all flinched away from Fives' gaze.

Ba'buir Ithorian began grumbling again, gesturing to Fives. Fives recognized their tone: one of reassurance and kindness.

"I'm here to help." He said. "I can get those collars off."

Hearing words they could understand didn't seem to help this group much. Fives considered waiting for Ahsoka to come calm them down, but Ba'buir Ithorian tugged at his wrist.

"All right, all right." Fives muttered.

He approached the group. Three humans, a Falleen, two Twi'leks and-

And-

A Devaronian woman with silver hair.

No.

No, this couldn't be her. Senna's hair was long and glistening, not short and dirty like this woman's was. Senna had bright, laughing blue-green eyes. Senna was confident, teasing, vibrant. This woman- wasn't.

Fives still kneeled in front of her and reached out a hand.

"Senna?" He asked.

She flinched, but she looked up. Her eyes widened.

"Fives?" She whispered.

That voice.

Fives lay back on the too soft bed as Senna stroked his bare chest. Heated touches had turned tender as their time together drew closer to its end.

"This'll be the last time for a while." Fives said. "We're shipping out tomorrow."

Senna sat up suddenly and frowned at him.

"It's only been two days." She said.

Fives shrugged, trying not to meet her eye.

"They need us at Anaxes, apparently." He said. "Don't worry, there'll be plenty of other clones on leave to keep you company."

Senna's full lips pursed.

"That's not what I'm worried about." She said. "Taka, I haven't seen you in months and they're only giving you two days? You're going to get yourself killed without proper rest."

Fives snorted.

"We didn't get leave on Kamino, and we survived that."

"I'm serious, Fives." Senna said.

She touched his face and his heart quickened as if she had not just pleasured him. None of the other girls made him feel this way.

"So am I." Fives said. "We've been through hell and back and survived. We'll be back to bother you soon."

'I'll be back.' He nearly said.

She searched his eyes.

"Do you promise that?" She asked.

Fives hesitated. Any clone could tell you what such a promise meant: very little. Not one of them could promise to come back. It was more of an oath to try to, if any brother swore it.

But did Senna understand that?

"Yeah." He found himself saying. "I'll be back."

She nodded.

"I'll be waiting."

A part of Fives wondered at how many clones she had told that to. He wanted to believe it was just him.

"It's me." Fives said.

She reached out a trembling hand to touch his.

"My- my Taka." She said. "You're- you're real?"

"Yeah." Fives said. His heart was breaking at the trembling in her voice. "It's real."

She let out a sob and he had to catch her as she collapsed. Fives held her close, a thousand questions surging through his mind. Why was she here? How long? Who had condemned her to this?

He knew it wasn't time for those questions. He looked at the others of her group. And he recognized them. They were some of the girls from 79's.

What had the Empire done?

Fives took a shuddering breath as Senna cried in his arms. He was glad that the guards were dead already. He only wished he'd made their deaths more painful.

"I can get that thing off." He whispered. He looked at the other girls. "For all of you."

Senna merely tilted her head in response. Fives unlatched the barbaric contraption around her neck and pulled it away. He handed the key to Ba'buir Ithorian so that they could release the others.

In the meantime, he tried to comfort the woman he'd left to this fate.

Ahsoka slashed down, cleaving a Zygerrian's arm from their body. They screamed for only a moment before she plunged her saber into their chest. They fell with a moan. She looked around. Her men were finishing the final Zygerrians off.

She saw a few white forms among the slavers' corpses, but she could feel that her men were still alive. Zygerrians wanted to capture, not kill, their enemies. These had realized they were overwhelmed far too late.

Kix was already leading his team of medics into the base, two left behind for the injured here. Ahsoka raised her comm as Rex joined her.

"Fives." She said. "Sitrep."

"We've got the recruits accounted for." Fives said. "And most of our men. But Ahsoka- there's no sign of General Skywalker, or Maul's men."

Ahsoka frowned and immediately reached into the Force.

"He's- here." She said after a moment. "He's faint. I don't think he's conscious."

Fives was silent. In the quiet, Ahsoka heard what she thought were sobs in the background.

"We saw some stasis chambers in the actual base." Fives finally said. "He might be in one of those."

Ahsoka nodded, relieved.

"You're probably right." She said. "They likely didn't have the leverage to keep him in line, so they just froze him. Probably the same for Maul's men."

"The General mentioned something about wanting their intel." Rex said. "Are Tech or Echo available?"

Fives snorted.

"Tech, no." He said. "From what I've seen, he's unconscious. Echo is available, but you'll have to comm him yourself. I'm- occupied."

Ahsoka wondered at the strain in his voice, but there would be time for that later.

"Thanks, Fives." She said. "Kix is on his way. Get everyone checked and ready to go."

Then, with Rex at her side, she went to go find her master.

They found the room with the stasis pods easily. They did have to wait for Echo to arrive to open them.

"Commander." Echo said as his scomp whirred in the port. "It's not just the General and Maul's men in there. There's someone else."

"What?" Ahsoka asked. "Does it have any information on them?"

"Not from the Zygerrians." Echo said. "They've just got them labeled as 'trouble.' General Skywalker's labeled as 'jedi' and Maul's men as 'mandos.' Hold on a moment, I'll let General Skywalker out and take a look at the old Seppie logs."

Ahsoka nodded and one of the nearby coffins let out a hiss of steam. Ahsoka quickly moved to the front of it as the pod split open. She caught Anakin by the shoulder as he stumbled out.

"Snips?" He muttered. "Snips- What're you-"

His eyes widened and he jerked away.

"The Zygerrians!" He hissed.

"Anakin." Ahsoka said, taking hold of Anakin's panic and forcing it away. "It's all right. We've taken care of it."

Anakin stared at her, and then looked to Rex and Echo.

"You- did?" He asked.

"They're gone, Anakin." Ahsoka said.

She studied her master. He didn't look worse for wear, just confused and disoriented. The Zygerrians must have determined him too powerful to keep loose. But- why not just kill him?

"Commander." Echo said. "I've got a few answers. This was a strange sort of prison, where they kept clone prisoners in stasis. They'd send them out occasionally, but it looks like they just- kept them here."

"That explains the clones here." Rex said. "The Separatists must have abandoned the base at the end of the war. The Zygerrians weren't likely to pass up already captured slaves."

Echo nodded with a tight lipped expression.

"Our friend in there is a Commando. RC-1207." Echo said. "He probably didn't take well to slavery. So they kept him in stasis."

"Let him out then." Ahsoka said.

Echo nodded and his scomp twirled. A pod further down the line began the opening process. Rex positioned himself in front, ready to help its prisoner.

RC-1207 fell out. Rex had to catch him instead of only lending a shoulder.

"Steady there, brother." Rex said. "It's all right. You're with vod'e."

The clone, with a scarred face and short cropped hair, stared at Rex. Ahsoka could feel his confusion and fear. She soothed those emotions gently and wasn't completely surprised to find anger replacing them.

RC-1207 shook Rex off with a glare.

"Where's my squad?" He demanded. His voice was rougher and deeper than a normal clone's. "Where am I?"

"Calm down." Rex said. "I'm Captain Rex. You're in a Separatist base on Ladarro. It looks like you've been here a while. What's your name? What's your squad?"

The commando stared at Rex with narrowed eyes before responding.

"Sev." He muttered. "I'm part of Delta Squad."

"I see." Rex said. "Listen, there's a lot to explain. We're going to need you to be calm until we can get off this rock."

"Commander!" Echo interrupted any response Sev had. "We need to leave now. The Zygerrians alerted the Empire when they captured the General. They're almost here."

Ahsoka cursed. She glanced at Anakin. Kriff, he was still disoriented. His eyes weren't focusing and he kept putting his hand to his head. Ahsoka could feel the muddled thoughts dripping from head. She was still in charge.

"What Empire?" Sev asked in a growl. "What about the Seppies?"

"Long story." Ahsoka said. "Suffice to say, the Empire's the worst of the Republic and CIS combined."

She turned to Echo.

"Get that information off of their database." She said. "Wipe the security footage. How long do we have?"

"Half an hour." Echo said. "Commander, there are dozens of captives here-"

"It'll have to be enough time." Ahsoka said. "Get going!"

The next thirty minutes were sucked away as if through an airlock. Ahsoka was thankful that at least half of the captives were clones. They knew how to evacuate. Even still, it wasn't enough time. They had to load three more shuttles when fighters began appearing in the sky.

"Kix, Vaughn!" Ahsoka ordered. "Get things finished up here! Rex, with me!"

Rex was immediately at her side as she boarded one of the empty shuttles.

"All units," Ahsoka said as she started the ship. Rex took the gunner position. "Do not engage the enemy. Retreat as soon as your shuttle is full."

She was very glad that Fives, along with the Bad Batch, had already left. The two other trouble makers, Tup or Jesse, were wounded and weren't calling the shots. So, instead of protests, she got a chorus of 'yes, sirs!'

Ahsoka shot into the sky. The fighters immediately targeted their shuttle. Now to keep it that way.

"Rex," Ahsoka said. "I'm going to try something. Standby to take over controls."
"Yes, sir." Rex said.

Ahsoka swerved to avoid the barrage of fire from the fighters and reached out in the Force. She found the minds of the pilots of the enemy fighters. Less than half were clones.

You must focus fire on that shuttle! Ignore all others! She screamed into the Force, letting Rex hear her manipulation.

The pain came as expected, but not as fiercely as it had in the past.

"Hang on, Rex." Ahsoka said.

She watched desperately as the other shuttles began to lift into the air. None of the fighters changed their focus. Ahsoka let out a sigh.

"I don't know how long it'll last." Ahsoka said. "Let's make it count."

Rex nodded and expertly fired into one of the enemy's engines. The fighter careened into the desert, leaving a streak of silvery glass.

One shuttle breached atmosphere and made the jump.

"Lead them away!" Rex said. "While they're stuck on us!"

Ahsoka immediately changed course and blasted off, the half dozen or so fighters in hot pursuit. They slashed across the desert. The burning sun flared off of the silver sands and Ahsoka had to flick down her visor to see properly.

"Ahsoka!" Rex shouted. "Rock formations, three o'clock!"

Ahsoka saw them. There was a twisting maze of pillars and canyons that was perfect for hiding in.

"Going now-" Ahsoka started.

The Force screamed, but before she could react, the shuttle trembled as a blast finally hit them.

"Direct hit!" Rex said. "Rear shields at 40 percent!"

Ahsoka tried to focus on flying, but the Force was still shrieking and her pain was growing stronger. It was only a bit further-

The shuttle rocked again.

"Shields gone!" Rex reported. "Ahsoka-"

Ahsoka strained in the Force, willing it to direct her actions.

You are strong, but you cannot change everything. Qui Gon's voice whispered.

Ahsoka felt her eyes widen in surprise. She hadn't heard Qui Gon since the mission to Lothal. Why now?

No! Ahsoka cried in her mind, but the guiding hands of the Force lifted from her own.

She heard something erupt behind her, the console was blaring at her, the controls weren't working-

The shuttle was going down. Ahsoka tried to drag the Force back to her, but was met only with a flash of excruciating pain. The rock was coming closer and closer.

"Ahsoka!"

A body crashed into hers, arms wrapping around her and forcing her down.

"Rex-"

The shuttle hit.

Mando'a:

ramikadyc: commando state of mind - an attitude that he/ she can do anything, endure anything, and achieve the objective. A blend of complete confidence and extreme tenacity instilled in special forces during training. Can also be used informally to describe a determined, focused person. Used here as to say they think they can do the impossible.

Ba'buir: Grandparent

Vod'e: brothers

All right, from the top!

I like to think that Hunter is one of those people who just RELISHES the quiet. Like put that man in a quiet room and he starts crying because of how nice it is.

Oh look I'm using Hunter's abilities practically instead of just giving him anxiety. I like the idea that he can tell who's speaking before anyone else.

And this is why Hunter should probably be used to scout out any new place.

Fives, you ignorant slut, Echo REALLY does not want to be around stasis chambers right now! Come on, man you were there when HE FELL OUT OF ONE AFTER MONTHS OF TORTURE.

And due to the power of PLOT they arrive right as Tech tries to stop the slavers from taking Taja! I wondered for a second whether Tech would bother trying to fight back when it would be pretty much pointless, but then I remembered the man literally jumped into an unknown hole for his sister. He is known for rash decisions when the ones he cares about are in danger.

…I miss Tech. WHO IS ALIVE, BY THE WAY.

Taja has had enough and decides that murdering one of the guards is as good a way as any to die. Luckily the Batch show up to stop that part of her plan.

Crosshair puts two and two together and realizes that Taja broke a man's neck for his brother. He finds this acceptable.

Okay, for a character I made up for a single scene, Haali (Ba'buir Ithorian) is rapidly growing on me and I will be integrating her where appropriate. The clones need a Grandma.

Oh hi Senna you are in a significantly worse spot here than you are in Fives Effect. That's a first. (seriously how are most of them happier in this one than in Fives Effect) Sorry if this muddles the waters between Fives Effect and Guilty/Absolved further.

I feel like the Empire is totally capable of looking at the girls (and guys) who were helping the clones in that way and going 'we should totally sell them into slavery.' Because the Empire is awful.

Quick note: Sitrep is military slang for 'situation report'

The Zygerrians took one look at Anakin and went 'hmmmmmmmmm no we are not dealing with that' and then called the Empire to come pick him up. So Anakin probably got out of this with the LEAST trauma.

Hi Sev! You get to live! Because I said so. Fun story, as we were editing Sev being let out, my sister, who has not played Republic Commando goes: IS IT HANDSOME GUY? And me and my other sister are like DO YOU KNOW HOW LITTLE THAT NARROWS IT DOWN? And she was goes Like especially handsome guy? And we continue to be confused and we're like Gregor? Mayday? Turns out she was talking about Howzer. And she was wrong.

Rex and Ahsoka may not have been extended that same courtesy.

I'm kidding. Maybe.

Meanwhile, the Force is kind of tired of Ahsoka brute forcing her way through problems with it and says SOLVE YOUR OWN DAMN PROBLEMS today.

Cliff hanger!

Okay, that's everything!

Stay safe, remember to review, and have a great few weeks!