Clouded by the Dark Side

Chapter 7 - Two Paths, Two Sisters

"Now what?!" groans Alema exasperatedly as Ahsoka lets out a loud huff of irritation.

"Relax," I advise them, "Artoo, see if you can spark the ignition couplers." Artoo immediately rolls over to a port and plugs himself in. If anyone can do it, he can.

After a few moments of nothing happening, he beeps a response.

"No, that's not it. Try opening the fuel lifters all the way," Aniya advises. The ship engines suddenly fire up and all the lights inside come on. Finally.

"Good work, buddy," I compliment him. I press the controls, and we blast off the landing platform, flying towards the high tower up ahead.

"Master Jinn and Master Kenobi are here!" exclaims Alema happily.

"Now we'll see some real fireworks," Ahsoka remarks.

"Excuse me? What do you call what we've been doing all day?" I demand, feigning offense.

"I don't know," she shrugs, "The word 'reckless' comes to mind."

Alema bursts out laughing. "Yeah, something like that."

"Hey!" protests Aniya, "Then what do you call nearly letting yourself get thrown off a cliff?"

"Very funny, Snips," I deadpan. "Back to work."

"The troops still need our help," Aniya reminds.

"We'll head over there now," I reply, "Charge the main guns."

"But we need to get to Tatooine as soon as possible," argues Alema.

"How are we gonna help?" objects Ahsoka, "Stinky's getting sicker and sicker."

"But we promised Rex we'd help them," I insist, unfazed. I'm not about to let our clones fight a battle alone when it's one beyond what they can handle. They need one of us there.

"Master, we've gotta get him to the medics on the Jedi cruiser," insists Ahsoka, "It's our only chance to get Stinky back to his father still breathing."

"Alright," I concede. "We'll get up to the cruiser, then head straight back."

Aniya turns on her comm link. "Captain, this is General Skywalker." She pauses for a long moment, and I feel a stab of pain knowing we left them here. We've lost so many men here. I'll have to ask for numbers as soon as I can. My sister's voice is quiet when she continues. "We're not going to be able to help you."

"Don't worry about us, General," Appo replies, "We'll be alright. The mission always comes first, ma'am." Like always, even after losing so many brothers, his focus is still on the mission. On helping us. It hurts seeing he has the composure to let us leave even when we don't. If they couldn't handle it, we'd come back regardless of the results. My stomach twists at the thought of either Rex or Appo – or even any of the clones – being killed, but now that Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are here, the battle should easily turn in our favor.

"Master, today I did my best to stay calm, focused... and when I did, everything seemed so easy," Ahsoka says.

The ship suddenly shakes violently, and the clouds part a moment later, revealing the cruiser right above. There's a space battle looming right in front of us.

"Well, get focused, 'cause things just got a lot harder."

I spin the shuttle sideways to avoid hitting one of the nearby ships. All at once, three vulture droids start shooting at us from behind.

"That's for sure," Aniya replies, attempting to reassure us. "But all we've got to do is land on that Jedi cruiser."

"But, Master, their deflector shields are up!" protests Alema worriedly as the bolts from the vulture droids hit the cruiser, clearly doing nothing to harm it. Just then, the cruiser starts firing down our direction. Our ship shakes from the impact.