Chapter 13 Ryloth

An hour later, the fleet exited hyperspace, and Ahsoka and Master Plo Koon were somewhat scared because…

Ahsoka's thoughts were interrupted by a sense of alarm that made her shiver. In front of them was a massive fleet.

"R2, activate the shields," her master ordered.

"Sir, there's a fleet of over fifty cruisers blocking the planet marked as our target," reported a clone, who, like everyone else there, seemed to want to remind his master that their fleet consisted of only seven cruisers and some frigates—they shouldn't raise shields; they should turn around and flee.

"We need to retreat," said Master Plo Koon, looking at the enemy's battle line of over fifty cruisers. There was no way they could handle that fleet with just six cruisers, some frigates, and the Truth and Reconciliation.

"Well, miserable old man, you've decided to give me a real battle. Let's see if you can destroy my ship and thwart my plans," said his master with a toothy smile, as if he couldn't hear them.

Ahsoka was also somewhat puzzled because the last time her master encountered Count Dooku, they were both respectful toward each other, but now her master exuded hostility.

"Master Plo Koon, battle formation. Ahsoka, activate the ion cannons once we're within firing range. We'll take advantage of the superior range to make one or two shots before the enemy can fire upon us. The shields should hold for a few minutes while we even the odds," ordered her master as he outlined a plan of attack for the fleet, positioning the cruisers in battle formation with the Truth and Reconciliation.

"Master, they knew we were coming, we must retreat!" said Ahsoka, seeing the wall of ships protecting the planet, over fifty cruisers, and behind them, about a hundred frigates, and a swarm of vulture droids, with all sorts of droid bugs, and hundreds of bombers; the planet was a true fortress.

Just the bombers alone were enough to destroy a fleet twice their size, let alone the swarm of droids with hundreds of thousands of assault ships, mostly vulture droids; it was madness, and if they reached them, their fleet would be dismantled without them being able to do anything to defend themselves.

"Of course, they knew. There's no way they'd let me keep this ship," said her master.

"Then the plan has failed. We cannot face this fleet; we must take advantage of their concentrated forces and attack other strategic points," said Plo Koon. His master shook his head.

"As I was preparing to give them a headache, it's evident that this small fleet was part of my plans."

"Regarding strategic objectives, with the Geonosis factories taken and destroyed, the droid army has already suffered a heavy blow. If we destroy this fleet and all those droids, their reinforcements will be scarce, and other blockades will be less efficient. On the other hand, if we avoid this battle, it will turn into a cat-and-mouse game, and we'll gain nothing from this ship other than wasting time in a game," explained his master.

Ahsoka checked the energy levels generated by the engine; it was evident that her master relied on the shield to withstand the attacks of fifty cruisers for at least a few minutes, while the overwhelming firepower of the Truth and Reconciliation allowed them to match the combat. The problem…

"Even if the shields hold, that swarm of droids will tear us apart, and they'll board us. They can also bombard us," said Master Plo Koon, who had seen the same flaw as she did in his master's plan. Even without the cruisers and frigates in place, there must be hundreds of thousands of droids; they would be boarded from all sides. His master nodded.

"R2, is our devouring abomination ready?" asked her master, and R2 sent him a report. "Good, let them come, we'll need plenty of repair resources after this battle," said her master, and Ahsoka understood that indeed, the amorphous thing in the cargo hold was a terror weapon.

Ahsoka, Master Plo Koon, and the clone commanders watched as the enemy fleet advanced toward them, but none raised further objections and prepared for combat, not because they had no objections, but because it was evident that their master would not retreat no matter what they said.

"The enemy fleet is adopting a… strange attack formation," said a clone.

The enemy fleet, blocking the planet, was dispersing, leaving a vast distance between their cruisers. Ahsoka, who had already read the specifications of the Truth and Reconciliation, knew why they were doing this.

The ion cannons of the Truth and Reconciliation could disable an entire fleet of five cruisers in battle formation with a single shot. This would mean that with maximum firing efficiency, the entire enemy fleet would fall after firing the ion cannons about eight times. In short, they knew the specifications of their ship, and their capabilities would not be a surprise. Ahsoka looked at her master.

"Master, they are going to surround us and group together to form formations in all the blind spots of the ion cannons," Ahsoka warned, because the enemy plan was evident, and it was a textbook tactic; against a less numerous enemy, the best tactic was to surround them.

In this case, the enemy applied this tactic to adopt a formation in which the ion cannons would be useless, and their casualties would be minimal.

"Relax, if the fleets are acting in formation, it's for a reason; they may be avoiding falling in large numbers, but we're also forcing them to disperse their forces, making them less effective, harder to manage, and less effective in concentrating fire while surrounding us," explained her master.

"They won't enter our firing range until they have regained their formations and are ready to shoot us down," said Master Plo Koon, although it was evident to everyone that this would be the enemy tactic, given their fleet's movements. Her master smiled.

"They haven't accounted for all of our weapons," said her master with a smile that was frightening. He seemed ready to kill or die. "R2, show them that our fangs are larger than they think; Kyber cannon fire," ordered her master, and Master Plo Koon flinched at hearing the name of the weapon.

R2 executed the orders, and a concentrated beam, like that of a lightsaber but many times the regular diameter, shot out from beneath the front cannon battery.

Ahsoka wasn't surprised because she already knew it was there. Although she didn't know how effective it would be because the shields of droidekas couldn't be penetrated by lightsabers, and a cruiser had shields…

Ahsoka was stunned when the energy beam collided with the shields of an enemy cruiser, creating a massive explosion that engulfed two other cruisers that were beginning to move away to adopt their formation against the ion cannons.

Ahsoka looked at Master Plo Koon, who had an expression of horror etched on his face and apparently wouldn't snap out of his shock for a long time. Ahsoka wouldn't get an answer from him at this moment.

She didn't understand; this was the same weapon as the Death Stars that her master made for her, and that weapon was just like a lightsaber but with more power. This wasn't a weapon like a lightsaber; it was a weapon of mass destruction.

"The Death Stars are very powerful weapons, but ultimately, they are anti-personnel weapons; if they caused explosions like this, whoever used them would end up turned to ashes. They were weapons with limited capabilities. This cannon was designed for a spacecraft," Ahsoka concluded and looked at her master, who nodded as if he could read her thoughts.

R2 notified that without the other cannons firing, and all the energy directed to the Kyber cannon, it would be recharged soon, and they could fire again. On the enemy side, the cruisers, adopting a scattered formation, if such a thing existed at this level, activated their engines, tripling their separation speed.

"We're at three times the maximum firing range!" murmured a clone. Ahsoka guessed that the separatists were equally shaken.

"I can't feel anything," said her master, frowning. "There are no life losses," he added when Ahsoka looked at him in confusion.

That meant there were only droids in the crews of those cruisers. Ahsoka also frowned. Her master was known for wreaking havoc with droid armies; if the separatists wanted to destroy the Truth and Reconciliation, it made no sense for them to employ droids against it.

"Let's keep testing," said her master.

Ahsoka understood that he wanted to leave the droids in charge, getting rid of the commanders. But if they could hide from her master's perception, this would be a gamble.

…

The Truth and Reconciliation fired another fifteen times, using the Kyber cannon, and once using the ion cannon, before the enemy fleet reached firing range. The enemy had already lost nineteen cruisers. That was insane, and it would be more if the cruisers weren't dispersed, and only the first shot affected three of them; the other shots only affected one cruiser…

Ahsoka shook her head at the craziness she was thinking. One shot, one destroyed cruiser, that was madness, and the Truth and Reconciliation had three of these weapons. For the ion cannons, they could only fire one at a time because they were port and starboard, but the Kyber cannon was located below the front cannons and could rotate ninety degrees to the right and left, covering the entire battle, and her master only had to select his target.

This caused the enemy fleet to give up maintaining distance while surrounding them and to approach to shoot and try to cause some damage, which had put them within firing range of the ion cannons.

Her master grimaced.

"Impossible," said her master. Ahsoka didn't know what he was thinking.

…

The battle began when the enemy cruisers entered attack range.

"Cannon batteries, fire!" ordered her master, and the more than five hundred turbolaser cannons of the Truth and Reconciliation concentrated their fire on a single enemy cruiser. The other cruisers also opened fire, but not even together could they match the firepower of the Truth and Reconciliation with its more than five hundred cannons.

The enemy, scattered everywhere, and seemingly wanting to surround them to regroup without fear of the ion cannons by attacking them from their blind spots, also began to fire, concentrating half of their attack on them, but…

"Light fire, shields holding," reported a clone. His report was accurate, but there were twenty cruisers firing at them; it was a rain of fire, the problem was that the enemy formation was a mess; the ion cannon kept them scared.

"Ion cannon, fire!" ordered her master, and the clones obeyed without hesitation, although the most they could affect was one cruiser.

"Impossible," said Master Plo Koon, who was barely coming out of his shock, seeing what the Kyber cannon could do.

R2 sent a battle report predicting a crushing victory for them. Ahsoka had already reached the same conclusion before. The enemy would never surround them; they couldn't attack in formation, and the Truth and Reconciliation wouldn't be affected by scattered fire.

The separatist plan relied on the ion cannons, and they surely didn't plan to lose more than a quarter of their fleet before entering firing range, and at this rate, they would lose half their fleet before reaching their positions. They were doomed because they hadn't taken into account the Kyber cannon, whose range and firing angle would be their downfall in this battle.

"Are we winning?" said Master Plo Koon incredulously.

"The enemy is retreating, the droid cloud and the rear frigates are advancing," reported a clone. The smile that Ahsoka had already shown disappeared.

"Too fast, but there are only droids in that fleet," said her master, frowning again, when another enemy cruiser exploded into a thousand pieces after being hit by the Kyber cannon.

"Dooku, he's here," said her master after several seconds.

"Ion cannon ready to fire in ten seconds," said a clone soldier.

"Kyber cannon firing in five seconds," another clone reported.

"Ion cannon, continuous fire," ordered her master.

Against the cloud of vulture droids and saboteurs, the Kyber cannon would not be of help because their maneuverability was a thousand times superior to that of the cruisers; only the ion cannon would be useful in this case, and they had to invest all their energy in it.

"Prepare to launch our own vulture droids," said her master, placing his hand on the strange helmet still by his side.

Ahsoka wondered if the helmet was some sort of remote control artifact with which he planned to control the vulture droids, but controlling hundreds of droids alone would make them inefficient; it was more effective to leave them to their own devices, so Ahsoka didn't understand what her master intended to do.

"Rex, there are too many enemies; our surprise weapon won't be able to handle them all. Our troops must also go out and organize internal defense teams; they will go after our engines, ion cannon, and bridge. Don't fight them all, just hold them off while our abominations clear the perimeter.

"Those who go outside, follow the same pattern; let them clear the way using the vulture droids; you will deal with the small fries they leave behind," her master ordered, and the clones began to organize.

Her master's words confirmed that he did indeed plan to control the vulture droids, and from what he said, he planned to sweep away most of the enemies threatening their main cannons on his own.

"Master Plo Koon, if the cruisers take the rear, the droids will ignore them," her master said, looking at Master Plo Koon.

"We won't withstand their solo attack," Master Plo Koon replied.

"Master Plo Koon, I'm being kind; withdraw the cruisers; they are getting in the way," her master ordered as he put the strange helmet next to him on his head.

Immediately, the weapons systems of the Truth and Reconciliation froze.

"Ahsoka, unless those cruisers hide behind the planet, keep firing the Kyber cannon and choose the best targets," her master ordered, and control of the Kyber cannon shifted to her station.

The cloud of droids was approaching at great speed, and Master Plo Koon hurried to order the cruisers to retreat because among the droid cloud were bombers, and in such numbers, they would wreak havoc on everything in their path.

…

The Kyber cannon fired a second time since it was in Ahsoka's hands, and an enemy cruiser, as well as a frigate, were destroyed. The frigate had tried to act as a shield, but the shot pierced it and hit the cruiser; it seemed its shield didn't have enough resistance for the explosion to occur.

"The droid cloud is within range of our weapons, cannon batteries in optimal position, disregarding the use of ion cannons," reported a clone, and all weapons opened fire…

The Force swirled around their master, catching his and Master Plo Koon's attention. Ahsoka thought it was a threat, but her master remained motionless in his command chair.

"Impossible," said a clone incredulously, and Ahsoka hurried to look at her station.

"Impossible," thought Ahsoka, looking at her master in disbelief. Master Plo Koon, upon seeing the data, had the same expression of horror he had when he saw the Kyber cannon fire.

The Truth and Reconciliation's cannons, whose controls were in her master's hands, weren't missing a single shot. It was one droid down per shot, and the Truth and Reconciliation had more than five hundred cannons firing simultaneously.

Her master had created another terrifying weapon, and this one directly employed the Force to cause mass destruction.

"Master Anakin, what are you doing?" Master Plo Koon asked desperately; it seemed he was struggling to refrain from intervening right away.

The Kyber cannon was already something known, using only Kyber crystals, but this was a weapon that directly used the Force.

"Master Plo Koon, calm down, I'm just making some use of the training I received in my early classes as an initiate."

Ahsoka blinked because it all made sense, and she understood how this weapon of mass destruction worked, which even an initiate would be capable of using because her master wasn't lying. This was a skill you learned as an initiate, when you were taught to perceive things with the Force, covering your eyes, but her master had turned a childish exercise into a weapon of destruction.

Master Plo Koon also understood the skill being used and seemed to try to speak several times but couldn't.

"Calm down, Master, they're just droids," her master said, and Master Plo Koon sighed helplessly.

Ahsoka fired the Kyber cannon again, and the energy beam pierced through the droid cloud and impacted another cruiser that was already out of the usual firing range. The Kyber cannon didn't seem to have a distance limit, and its current power was only the crystals they already had, hers and her master's, and the ones he took from General Grievous, which totaled just over twenty crystals. Also, the energy provided came from the Truth and Reconciliation. If the Kyber crystals and the power source were increased, couldn't this weapon blow up a planet?

Ahsoka understood why the Masters had threatened severe punishment to anyone who put Kyber crystals in her master's hands, but he had stolen them from the separatists, and he was increasing the power of the weapon he had created with them.

Ahsoka sighed, understanding that perhaps the Council was right to fight so much with her master. He always managed to cause them trouble. Now he had turned a training exercise for children into a battle skill that even a child could comprehend, although she doubted they could use it freely because her master was a Jedi sensor, and his control of the Force was incredibly precise. He also intended to teach her the same thing, and when they weren't on the battlefield, she had to use the Force at all times, even when she slept.

Ahsoka looked, two seconds left until the next shot, and she targeted her mark. In front of them, the droids exploded with one shot, but there were hundreds of thousands of them, and the Truth and Reconciliation's cannons, despite being many, didn't exceed six hundred. The droids would undoubtedly reach them. Still, this was another victory because her master wasn't firing randomly, and the enemy bombers were suffering a disaster.

…

"They're upon us," reported a clone when some tens of seconds after launching the attack, the droid cloud reached them, without their bombers but with their numbers. If each of them took a small piece of their ship, there would still be material missing.

"Releasing droids, Rex, order your squads to follow me, if they destroy the cannons, we'll have lost," ordered his master, as the vulture droid system was also in his hands.

Several hundred vulture droids were released, and they had black patches all over their structure, but this wasn't what surprised Ahsoka, because she had already seen it. What surprised her was that the droids flew with the same crazy and aggressive style as her master, dodging blaster cannon shots by millimeters while firing and taking out their targets with one shot, then moving on to the next. It was as if they were also part of the ship's cannons.

Behind the vulture droids, which split into squads, were the clone squads, clearing out the droids left behind in the wake of destruction left by the vulture droids controlled by his master.

However, the enemy was a fleet of hundreds of thousands, and a few hundred vulture droids didn't do much damage, nor were they an impenetrable wall, so they reached the Truth and Reconciliation. The ship trembled.

"The shield holds, but this is a drill attack, and some breaches will open," reported a clone.

"Ignore them, the defenses will deal with those who manage to breach the shields, keep firing the Kyber cannon," ordered his master, who continued to take down enemies.

He focused on the droids trying to hit the bridge, creating a curtain of pure cannon fire between the bridge and the droids attempting to blow them into space. With so many enemies, Ahsoka found it difficult to look at the cruisers.

The Kyber cannon was their most powerful weapon, and in the course of the battle, it had already taken down more than twenty enemy cruisers, more than the five taken down with the ion cannon. But it wasn't their only weapon, because the Truth and Reconciliation was a weapons platform, and now that the enemy had advanced their frigates and had also left them without the protection of the droid cloud to try to board them, these were, literally, being decimated by the Truth and Reconciliation's cannon batteries, and the reinforcing cruisers, which were ignored by the droids. The frigates were desperately trying to return to the destroyer line, and the destroyers were trying to outmaneuver the frigate line to return fire.

"This is a massacre!" murmured Ahsoka.

The enemy had been surprised time and time again by weapons they didn't even know existed, but which were undoubtedly designed with each event of this battle in mind.

"Bombers have slipped in among those droids, shields at fifty percent! They're tearing us apart!" said a clone soldier. "They've breached the upper hull, up front!" he added.

Ahsoka blinked; she couldn't imagine how those bombers had escaped her master's perception.

"Dooku, you've pushed it too far, I've caught on to you!" said his master with a smile.

He removed the helmet, and the clones took control of the turrets again because the infiltrated bombers were destroyed upon being revealed. His master looked at Master Plo Koon.

"Master Plo Koon, Dooku is directing the attack from Ryloth, I will go destroy his base, that will give him an easy battle against the droids," said his master as he stood up and looked at her.

"Ahsoka, you and I will break through enemy lines and destroy the enemy base on the planet, so the droids won't have a commander. Master Plo Koon will use system 0, which I have created, to deal with the remaining droids. Without Dooku in command, there will be no more stealthy strategies or quick reactions."

"Rex, I don't want any of those cruisers to leave this battle, that miserable old man is going to pay for every dent he makes on my ship with one of his cruisers," ordered his master, who was already walking towards the elevator to descend to the hangar and break through enemy lines.

Then, somehow, the two of them would infiltrate an enemy base that must have had tens of thousands of droids guarding it and thousands of anti-aircraft guns protecting it, and destroy it. As she dragged her feet to follow her master, Ahsoka could only think that this would truly be her end.

Master Plo Koon tried to argue something, but he couldn't find the words. There was also the matter that his master had left his place for her to use his new weapon in defense of the Truth and Reconciliation.

"Master Plo Koon, the rest of the battle is yours," encouraged his master, who began to run when the ship shook from an explosion.

Ahsoka could feel Master Plo Koon's reluctance and fear. He was eager to go with his master, Ahsoka felt… protection. Master Plo Koon didn't want his master to be in any danger, but he was powerless.

As Ahsoka left her station and ran after her master, she wondered if the whole council thought the same as Master Plo Koon, because she was sure that Master Plo Koon's behavior was because of the so-called prophecy…

Upon exiting the elevator, her master used Jedi speed to run a hundred meters, to where the clones were retreating from an avalanche of droids that barely fit in the wide corridors, determined to reach the bridge. But her master passed through them like a bullet, and behind him, only dismembered parts remained.

This was a skill he was teaching her, and Ahsoka already mastered it enough to disarm a couple of droids, but nothing compared to what she saw now, as her master had the ability to use Jedi speed and this skill that consumed much of his concentration.

…

As they ran and turned a corner in a hallway, Ahsoka saw a row of retreating droids, being pursued by amorphous masses of what looked like a black mass immune to blaster shots, using tentacles to swallow up the droids, who screamed and kicked as they were engulfed, but in the end, they disappeared inside that thing, and silence fell. Ahsoka didn't want to know anything and kept running after her master.

Ahsoka reached the upper hangar with every muscle in her body sore, while her master, who had probably disarmed thousands of droids while using Jedi speed, didn't even sweat. He smiled at her as the clone troopers guided them towards the only ship in the place, a two-seater fighter, and handed them a backpack full of high-powered bombs, but not nearly enough to blow up an entire base.

Ahsoka realized that these bombs also had black patches, and she didn't feel comfortable carrying them because her master had modified them.

"Rest for now, as soon as we land on the planet, it will be you who takes care of the command center, because Dooku and Ventress will keep me busy," said her master, and Ahsoka felt the weight of the world on her shoulders.

"Well, anyway, we're not going to reach any command center," thought Ahsoka, because they didn't have an army to fight their way through, and they would end up vaporized trying to get in.

Her master, unaware of her state, boarded the starfighter and took the command controls, setting a course for the astromech droid that would assist them. R2 was still on the bridge of the Truth and Reconciliation; he wasn't part of this suicide plan. It seemed that her master held him in higher regard than her.

…

The flight between the planet and the fleet was madness, because the cruisers, seeing that it didn't matter if they were far or near, couldn't escape the Kyber cannon, they came closer again, but ignored the fleet and fired at their small ship with everything they had. The vulture droids also followed them by the dozens, but their ship was about five times faster than them and they left them behind, because this was one of the ships patched by their master.

As for the cruisers firing at them, their cannons were powerful but slow, and a few rolls were enough to dodge their shots. So their small ship headed like a guided missile towards the planet, where their master said Count Dooku was coordinating the attack.

Ahsoka, filled with apprehension and fear, hurried to follow her master's advice and, in addition to resting, also meditated to regain control of her emotions.

…

Unfortunately, things were not different from what Ahsoka foresaw, and as soon as they entered the planet's atmosphere, they were greeted by a hail of fire from anti-aircraft cannons that destroyed their small fighter, turning it into dust.

Ahsoka had no idea how she was still alive, and how now her master and she were plummeting towards the planet's surface, where it was night, but that didn't matter because the sky was illuminated as if it were day due to the amount of cannons firing at them.

"Aaaaaaaah!" Ahsoka couldn't take it anymore and screamed with all her might as they fell… no, flew headlong, dodging cannon shots and making their already crazy descent to the surface even faster.

"Calm down, take a deep breath, and enjoy the ride! This is awesome!" shouted her master, his tone euphoric.

Ahsoka, who like him, was headfirst and was between his arms, protected from the atmosphere and the elements by his master's amazing mastery of the Force, which kept them from suffocating, screamed again and thought she also cursed her master several times, accusing him of being completely insane. Her master just laughed and increased the speed.

…

The freefall flight lasted several terrifying minutes, but at some point it stopped, and they were inside a massive droid control room. Ahsoka had no idea how they got there. She was trembling and felt vertigo throughout her body.

"Count Dooku, Ventress, it's a pleasure to see you again," greeted her master, gently descending to the floor with her carried in his arms. They were no longer upside down.

"Kill him!" ordered Count Dooku, and five destroyers advanced, but before they reached five meters from the walls where they came from a hundred meters away from them, they had already been turned into pieces, just like about five hundred droids that guarded and controlled the place.

Dooku was in the center of the command room with Ventress at his side, and both wore expressions of anger when they saw that the droids responsible for the consoles, who were supposed to be the ones directing the attack in the planet's orbit following their orders, were being dismantled.

With Dooku occupied, that meant that Master Plo Koon would only have to face the droids, so his chances of survival had multiplied several times.

"Count Dooku, I'm afraid I won't be able to accompany you this time, because your droids are causing trouble for my troops," said her master, placing her on the floor. "Destroy everything," ordered her master and immediately jumped towards Count Dooku and Ventress.

Her master attacked fast, seriously, and without his usual games, which weren't games, just a careful study of his surroundings, and an attempt to unsettle his opponents…

"It's a bluff, he's exhausted," Ahsoka realized, and immediately activated her lightsaber and ran towards the consoles and terminals to destroy everything she could while planting bombs along her path. She also used the skill her master taught her to disarm anything she could.

Ahsoka didn't hold back and didn't even look at how the fight between her master, Count Dooku, and Ventress was going. If she didn't give these two Sith reasons to believe the battle was lost and that it was pointless to stay there, she and her master would be in serious trouble.

The separatists had also improved their droids, and these no longer shut down when losing the control room. However, if a commanding general fell, the droids would be dozens of times easier to defeat. So her master rushed into the command room alone…

Ahsoka felt a death threat looming over her, but it didn't come from Ventress and Count Dooku. Both, like her, felt the danger and retreated from the battle to run without looking back.

"Skywalker! You'll pay for this!" Dooku reprimanded angrily.

Ahsoka could clearly feel all the anger of the Sith Lord; he truly wanted to drink her master's blood, but he felt death upon him and didn't hesitate to escape, after spitting venom and helplessness, promising revenge.

Ahsoka, who had the same sense of death, was also going to run, but her master appeared in front of her, from the middle of the room, explaining to her how they escaped from their ship and how they entered the enemy base without being vaporized by its defenses.

"Teleportation," thought Ahsoka dazedly, as her master hugged her, and the world turned into a clear sky, and they plummeted again.

…

About five seconds later, several kilometers away from them, an explosion erupted on a mountain, and Ahsoka wondered if Count Dooku and Ventress would survive, because they couldn't teleport.

"Master, we're going to crash," Ahsoka warned. It seemed that her master still found it amusing to plummet, but it made her dizzy.

Her master ignored her and only when they were about to reach the ground, he teleported to a cave.

This time, Ahsoka felt a whip and they hit the ground hard.

"Ahsoka, we're in enemy territory now, and I need to rest. Leave the cave and check the perimeter, I'll sit for a while," her master said, leaning against a cave wall with evident fatigue.

Ahsoka was surprised that he hadn't passed out yet; besides, she had only heard of Force teleportation in theory, she didn't know anyone who could do it. Master Yoda said that the Force was a powerful ally and anything was possible, but she never believed that teleportation was in that package.

"Master, I'm tired too," Ahsoka complained, although she was more scared than tired. Today she saw death face to face on more than one occasion and needed to meditate to calm her spirits.

"Ahsoka, we're in enemy territory, and Dooku must be looking for us to skin us alive. I can't even walk anymore, if they find us it will be our end, go watch the perimeter," her master ordered.

Ahsoka sighed and left the cave, which was on the slope of a mountain. The landscape was desert-like and the air was dry. This was Ryloth, the planet of the Twi'leks. Ahsoka looked around and tried to sharpen her senses In the Force, although thanks to her master, her nerves were ruffled and her senses dulled; many things could escape her attention at this moment, and if it weren't for her recent control training, she would be unconscious right now.

She couldn't believe that after everything her master did, he wasn't…

Ahsoka blinked and ran back to the cave, where she found her master unconscious. She ran and touched his neck.

"Idiot, you scared me!" Ahsoka yelled. For a second, she thought he had sent her out so she wouldn't see him die.

He only sent her out so she wouldn't see him pass out…

That didn't make much sense, Ahsoka thought, as a sense of pain that wasn't hers reached her, but it wasn't hers.

Ahsoka looked at her master and sighed. She took him and laid him across her lap. His plan to distance her and make her not feel their bond had failed; she had been able to calm herself faster than he expected, and she caught on to his trick.

"I'm not stupid! I already figured it would be you," Ahsoka scolded, cradling him in her lap and stroking his face.

It was a more square face, sterner eyes, darker hair. But they were his eyes, and it was… it was the same embrace. Her master had been that boy who taught her to control the Force as part of herself. But more than that, he…

"Master, I've been looking for you everywhere!" Ahsoka complained, opening the bond they created that day, and feeling him beside her.

Their bond was comforting, calm, and with absolute self-assurance. There were no fears or doubts. He was the will to move forward. A will he had offered her that day. She hadn't understood it at the time, but his feelings reached her with absolute clarity, and that's why she decided to accept his help without any doubt.

Then time passed and she grew up, coming to understand it. He had offered her trust and selfless support. All for nothing in return. She was valuable to him simply for existing, and it was that sincerity and those feelings that formed their bond. A bond she hadn't wanted to break, and she always sought out that helper, but the masters wouldn't tell her who he was, and he didn't give his name to his classes either; he didn't even have a set schedule, he came and went.

Ahsoka felt their bond. His feelings reached her, and despite being surprised, she was calm. She also gave him a little thump.

"Liar!" Ahsoka scolded.

She had searched for him, and in her heart there were gratitude and good feelings, but she understood that his feelings for her went beyond that. That's why he hid it, that's why he didn't want a Padawan; he knew she would be the chosen one.

The masters had already warned him about this when he met her, the first time they returned to the temple and she lived through that terrible experience, when she had to face the council for the first time on his behalf. That was a nightmare. Then her master disappeared for several days, and no one wanted to tell her where he was, but Master Yoda and Windu spoke to her to warn her that her master took his visions of the future very seriously, and as his Padawan, it was her duty to keep him in the present. That made no sense to her at the time, but now she understood everything.

"Speak plainly!" Ahsoka complained.

Of course, Master Yoda's and Windu's words were about her master's feelings towards her. He had feelings for an Ahsoka he knew from his visions, and in the council's opinion, that was taking the visions too seriously. If she had to say, she thought the same, but her master's visions were not ordinary, and whenever he said something, it truly happened. So she believed him and also believed in his feelings. But she didn't have such feelings; she always wanted to be a Jedi. She had studied all her life how to be a Jedi. She had never thought of any other possibility, let alone this possibility…

She hadn't thought of many possibilities; the Jedi were her ultimate aspiration and a role model, but she had only been with her master for just over a month and many things had already changed, including her view of this war. Just two months ago, the separatists were evil and crazy beings. The Republic was all good, the separatists all bad. The council was absolute.

Ahsoka sighed and stroked her master's hair. He had changed her view of this world. She still wanted to be a Jedi. But the council wasn't supreme; they made mistakes, especially when her master was around. He had a special gift for making them lose their composure and appear powerless and tired, very tired, even frustrated…

Well, even Dooku, who was a Sith Lord, seemed tired when her master had time to annoy him…

"Qui-Gon bastard, don't think I can't feel you," her master said, and Ahsoka tensed, looking at him, but he was still asleep.

"Qui-Gon?" Ahsoka asked, but her master remained unconscious.

Ahsoka shook her head; it was surely someone else who lost their composure when they were next to her master, and now they were trying to avoid encountering him; that wasn't unusual.

Ahsoka wondered what she should do now. She didn't want to hurt him, and besides, she felt pain in her master. A pain that reached her through their bond, but she couldn't identify it; it was a strange feeling for her. She didn't know how to help him, but she sent her own feelings of relief at finding him, and that feeling of pain eased, so she thought that was okay and continued doing it.

…

Three hours later, her master began to wake up, and Ahsoka hurried to close their bond. She was ready to know, but not to face such an uncomfortable situation, and her master didn't seem willing to talk about it either, so now they would both pretend ignorance and continue pretending they didn't know anything. Ahsoka felt satisfied because she already knew what she wanted to know, and that was enough for her.

Her master woke up, and upon seeing himself on her lap, his heart raced, but he quickly regained control of his emotions. Now Ahsoka understood that he liked it, and she wasn't alarmed by it or thought she was making him uncomfortable. Another thing that would make their relationship more bearable because this guy sometimes made her very nervous, and she felt like she wanted to see what it felt like to make a hole in him with a lightsaber. She wasn't immune to the exhaustion of dealing with him. But now that she knew what was going on, she could take it easy knowing his situation.

Anakin got up with a horrible sense of loss and reluctance, but he controlled his emotions and wasn't in his Padawan's lap for any longer than strictly necessary, although he didn't stand up because he felt a little dizzy. He had pushed his Force to the limit on several occasions, moved through space several times, and finally faced Dooku and Ventress when he was already exhausted, overexerting his Force to make it seem like he was at his best and that the old man wouldn't risk too much in their fight, thinking that no matter how much they fought, he would only jeopardize his escape if he stayed.

Anakin thought his body was very weak, but he hadn't managed to make appropriate nanites; the closest thing were artificial cells. He could do Sith alchemy, as he already had the knowledge, and it would be superior to any Sith who tried it, but he didn't want to mess with the dark side if it wasn't absolutely necessary, and now it wasn't. He had enough cards to deal with Palpatine, and if he continued using his technological knowledge to give him an advantage in the war, the separatists would soon be breathing down Palpatine's neck, asking him where the easy victory he promised them was and why they were losing so many battles…

"Master, what are we going to do now?" Ahsoka asked, bringing him back to reality because they were still in enemy territory.

Anakin took a deep breath and sat back on his heels.

"We'll meditate and regain our state. I can sense the battle isn't over yet, but there's nothing we can do for them. Don't worry about Master Plo Koon; with Dooku out of the picture, he must have had a much easier time battling the droids and the enemy fleet; the 'Truth and Reconciliation' won't fall so easily either," comforted Anakin, knowing that the relationship between Ahsoka and Master Plo Koon wasn't simple, and he was the Jedi who brought her to the temple.

Ahsoka nodded and sat back on her heels. She looked different, and perhaps she had already felt their bond, but since she didn't mention it, Anakin could only breathe a sigh of relief and act as if nothing happened. He wasn't prepared for another painful break, although he was willing to confront his feelings; if he could, he would take things slowly.

After overusing the Force, it took Anakin half a day to recover. He was surprised that no one was looking for him on a planet full of enemies, but he shrugged and an hour later, he had taken up a guard position next to Ahsoka and hacked into a radio.

…

"Master, Master Plo Koon reports that the battle is over. The 'Truth and Reconciliation' is more holes than a ship, two of our cruisers have severe damage, and four need urgent repairs, but in terms of ships, it was a sweeping victory," reported Ahsoka as he kept watch over the surroundings.

"How's the 501st?" Anakin asked; this had been a tough battle for them.

"Rex reported few casualties. The droids were devoured by their pets, and they only had to delay their advance long enough for them to grow larger. Now they occupy several cargo bays.

"As for the pilot groups, their losses were minimal. The vulture droids served as spearheads and shields for the blaster shots from the enemy vulture droids, and their missiles were too slow for the new speed of the assault ships," Ahsoka reported, reading a report on a holographic unit. Anakin nodded.

"Tell Rex to prepare the farewell ceremony for the fallen clones. We'll officiate the ceremony as soon as we organize everything," Anakin ordered.

Anakin rarely let the clones enter battles like this; they were slaves, and Anakin was very aware of that, but if he refused to command them in the war, they would simply sideline him, and then everything would be lost, including the clones. Anakin looked at Ahsoka.

"Are you okay?" Anakin asked, giving her space to complain about this crazy adventure.

"I'm fine," Ahsoka said.

Anakin blinked; they had been together for over a month now, and by this time, she would already be complaining and warning him that they were going to die next time. Anakin didn't say anything; he wasn't going to complain about his luck.

"Alright, we need to get back to the ship and bring the army to this planet. It would be great if we could capture Dooku because we already have Grievous," said Anakin.

"Master, Master Plo Koon reports that at this moment we have received reinforcements, and Republic forces have landed on the planet with almost no opposition. The separatist army and Count Dooku have fled as soon as we destroyed their command base," Ahsoka reported, blinking in disbelief.

Anakin thought Dooku had swallowed his bluff about being in top shape, and he feared he might come after him. Now that he knew he could move through space, he would be twice as cautious. Of course, this was just one possibility. The other possibility was a shitty ghost whispering in Dooku's ear. Anakin would swear he saw it when he moved to Dooku's command room, but it was only for a second. Still, he wouldn't forget Qui-Gon's presence.

"Master, Master Plo Koon says the Council wants to speak with us. They're already sending a shuttle to our position," Ahsoka said with a weary sigh.

Anakin smiled, but this was in his plans; he already knew the Council would want to forbid him from even mentioning anything about the 'Truth and Reconciliation' outside of the Council. If he hadn't told them beforehand that the 'Truth and Reconciliation' would be his new ship, they would surely be asking him to destroy it by now.

"Then we'll wait," said Anakin. Ahsoka sighed again.