The Wolf Pack

Chapter 31

I had never felt such fear. The suffocating sensation of having the weight of an entire ocean on my chest, pushing me down, swallowing me into the darkness that was true terror. I had never been so afraid. I had experienced grief before, had thrown myself in danger's way to protect those I held dear, and had faced the enemy time and time again. I had spent the last two years trying to keep the war from breaking me, but now, as I sped through Khorm airspace, dodging fighters and shooting down droids, I could feel it finally taking hold on my soul. The comm had come in from the lieutenant on the surface, Commander Wolffe's squadron had spotted the CIS's assassin Asajj Ventress, and they were in pursuit.

No amount of frantic yelling could get through to him, a storm was jamming communications and command had lost track of them. It wasn't that I doubted the clone's ability to face her, on the contrary, I often forgot that it wasn't normal for any sentient species to be able to keep up with a Jedi's training. What worried me was the fact that not even Master Kenobi and Master Skywalker had been able to either capture her or kill her. Asajj might have not been a Sith, but she was a damned good assassin, and a force sensitive one at that.

It didn't take too much arguing to get their last known coordinates. Admiral Zapal decided it was a good idea to question me at some point. He didn't get the chance to say much after I promptly informed him that he would be in charge of the assault from then on. The phrase "Jedi business" always worked wonders for situations like that. Of course I would pay for my improper use of power sometime later, but right then, I had friends to save, and hopefully, asassins to capture.

Landing was not easy, all sensors were down, and so were the scanners. I had to trust my gut and the Force to be able to navigate in such a snowstorm. But if landing was hard, it was nothing compared to what greeted me on the planet's surface. I felt two life forms ahead of me, not too far. It wasn't a good sign, Wolffe's squad had at least twenty men. As I made my way towards the two life forms, I started coming by small piles of snow in my path. Only it wasn't snow, it was dead clone troopers whose bodies were starting to be covered by the storm. If I hadn't been on a planet that was already frozen over, I would probably have attributed the cold in my veins to the absolute emptiness in the Force where life had once been.

When I finally made it to where I felt the two life forms, I saw her. Asajj Ventress stood over the kneeling body of a man, who held one of his brothers to him, cradling his head. She was boasting, calling the clones "Jedi lapdogs" and basking on what she presumed was a clean victory. She brought one of her red lightsabers up above her head and then swung. Before the blade could meet the neck of the trooper, I intercepted it with my own. Ventress hadn't felt my approach, and my sudden presence there made her take a leap back.

I took the opportunity and looked back at the trooper, and what I saw froze both my body and my soul. It was Sketcher, and in his arms was his brother and Commander, Wolffe. Wolffe, who's right eye had been cut off and had been bleeding so profusely he was most likely dead already.

It took all my strength not to charge at the assassin right then and there. It took all my training to not allow myself to be consumed in darkness, to punish her for what she had done, to kill her for daring to touch my friends, to avenge Wolffe's death. Yes, I wanted to give in, I wanted to kill her, to hurt her, to maim her, to make her suffer for what she had done.

But right there and then -underneath the overwhelming urge to kill, kill, KILL- Sketcher's force signature did not change. He had been afraid when I had arrived, but he was terrified as he looked up at me through the visor of his helmet. It wasn't Ventress who was causing that. It was like a slap to the face, a bucket full of freezing cold water over the head.

I was scaring him.

I tried my best to get a hold of myself, to bring my anger and grief under control. I then took the vibroblade Wolffe had given me and threw it at his knees.