Star Wars the Clone Wars - One shots

Autumn Leaves

Ahsoka learns what it's like to be crushed.

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One of the most shocking lessons Ahsoka learnt after just a year of being a Commander was that things could go from sweet to sour in a blink of an eye. It still surprised her when the easiest of tasks suddenly became life or death situations.

Nothing had seemed amiss at first. It was a textbook scouting mission. Two experienced but still young troopers were accompanying her through a series of ancient catacombs that stretched underneath the Separatist base.

As soon as they established where the command centre was based, they would regroup with Anakin, and the assault would begin.

It was supposed to be the calm before the storm.

There hadn't been anything suspicious about the tunnel they were walking through, nothing setting it apart from the others. Radar was leading them via a Holomap held in his palm, quipping back at Boon whenever his brother teased him for wishing he could be an explorer. Ahsoka thought it was a viable career path once the war was over.

They'd been laughing and making jokes the entire time, not fearing their heads potentially getting blown off by some hidden bomb that was strategically placed to wipe out intruders.

Radar accidentally tripped the booby trap, and the Force screamed.

Ahsoka's spine went rigid as the three soldiers froze, knowing exactly what would happen next, and having no way to stop it.

She barely had time to open her bond to Anakin with a desperate cry of fear before throwing her entire body weight against Boon, who in turn crashed into Radar, pushing them against the wall as everything exploded around them.

There was a flash of red, and then darkness, the stench of sulphur thick in the air. Heat washed over them, flames licking their skin. Dust soon filled the air, mixing with the smoke to make the air impossible to breathe without coughing and spluttering. Acid burned at the back of her throat as Ahsoka fought to catch her breath.

Rocks had fallen from the ceiling, the catacomb caving in on itself. She was surrounded on all sides, rocks pressing against her back and legs, keeping her in place and pinning her arms to her side. Even shifting a centimetre made her skin sting as jagged rocks tore through her flesh like paper.

It was worse around her chest. It felt like a grappling cable had been tightened around her ribs, getting winched tighter and tighter until every breath felt like sandpaper scraping her lungs and her heartrate felt scattered and irregular.

Ahsoka heaved once, twice, three times. She tried to blink, but her eyes hurt and so did her head.

Razor-sharp rocks scraped across her skin as she attempted to move, wanting to push the rocks away from her chest. The pressure only got worse, so punishing that she wanted to gag. Using the Force would be futile, they'd all be killed when the rocks fell from above their heads.

"Commander," there was a flicker of light to her left, Radar managing to switch on his headtorch to illuminate the space they were trapped in. It was like a coffin, the fallen rocks pressing them both against the wall of the cavern with barely enough space to move their heads. "You alright?"

"Yeah," Ahsoka coughed, wincing as his headtorch made her eyes sting. Talking felt like she was chewing on cotton wool. "Am I bleeding?"

"Your head is," he said, and he was right- she could feel blood dripping down her temple. It was warm, a stark contrast to the cold rocks. Ahsoka shivered, "I've got no signal to call the others."