The Wolf Pack

Chapter 55

Ahsoka tried not to think about her best friend as she made her way towards the communications center. She tried not to think about the darkness she had felt in Kriari and how easily she had got past her own defenses. Ahsoka was not scared of Kriari, she knew her friend would never hurt her, but still the ease with which she had hurt Barriss left her perplexed. Kriari was good, loyal and loving, but she was dangerous; all Jedi were.

As she crawled through the ventilation system, Ahsoka couldn't help but feel she had to contact Kriari's master as well as her own. There was something wrong and maybe her friend's master could help her out with it. Kriari was breaking, and now was not the time for her to do it. Not when the entire crew was possessed by a mind controlling geonosian worm.

Ahsoka had always been adept at being sneaky, and this time was no exception. She made it to the communications room uninterrupted, and managed to get into the room undetected. The first thing she did was call her own master, who she knew would be quite worried that they hadn't checked in on schedule. She managed to both explain their situation and reassure him that they were safe for now, but they needed help with solving the situation before reaching the Medical Station.

After she had spoken with her own master she asked to speak to either Master Plo or Obi-Wan, but both were at a meeting at the moment so it was Wolffe she spoke with. The man tried his best to seem professional and undisturbed, but even thousands of lightyears away, Ahsoka could tell just how tense he was.

"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but she's breaking, Wolffe." she said as she checked the doorway for any intruders. "Geonosis wore her off too much and just now Barriss killed Trap because he attacked her and Kriari nearly cut her arm off for it."

Ahsoka could see the tension in Wolffe's face at the information and could almost hear the gears turning inside his head.

"The Commander has always been quite protective of us clones, but never to the extent of hurting fellow Jedi. This could prove troublesome for her if it ever got out..."

Ahsoka caught his drift easily enough.

"Both Barriss and I have decided not to snitch, but she needs help, Wolffe. She did have a point in telling Barriss she was wrong, but the Jedi do not condone violent action as retribution. She could be expelled from the Order for this."

Wolffe was being very careful with what he said and did, as well as with how much he gave away. Ahsoka saw this as a sign that he knew something. Wolffe knew something about Kriari that she didn't and this set her a little on edge.

"This line of communications is secure, isn't it?" Asked the Padawan.

Wolffe simply nodded.

"Tell me what you know, Wolffe." pleaded the teen. "I need to know my friend is safe."

...

Kriari managed to disable the hyperdrive without issue. She had been living on starships the last two years and she would have been able to find the place with her eyes closed. What she didn't expect to find there was soldiers. The clones had been waiting for the Padawans to show up and had even allowed her to deactivate the hyperdrive before trapping her.

Kriari had fought them off for as long as she had been able, never drawing her lightsaber on the men, only using her fists and legs to defend herself. Not that it had been enough, she was eighteen, and there were six physically adult men trying to grab her. In the end, they succeeded.

As they held her against a wall, holding both arms and legs so that she didn't kick their teeth in, Kriari still could not bring herself to take lethal action against them. She knew that there was some kind of mind control behind their behavior, she knew that her knowledge as a Commander was not to fall on enemy hands and that her intel of the Jedi was priceless. But even when the information she had could compromise hundreds if not thousands of systems, she could not bring herself to kill any of the men around her.

When one of the men stepped forward with an egg and a green worm a tear escaped her. She didn't want this, but there was nothing she could do, nothing she would do that would save her at the expense of their lives. Kriari closed her eyes as she felt the worm slither across her cheek and approach her left nostril, and she prayed to the Force that her loved ones were okay, even when she wasn't.

...

Wolffe was not running, but there was a definite urgency to his pace. The clones around him parted like the Kaminoan seas before him. It only took one look and a basic sense of self preservation to get the fuck out of his way. Captain Rex tried to keep pace with him as they made their way towards the detention center, where General Skywalker had gone to interrogate Poggle.

They caught the General right before he entered Poggle's cell, and managed to talk him down from what they knew he was going to do. They had the very same idea, but were not tied to a religious code they had to abide by. Rex, for all his loyalty and friendship with both Commanders, was still reluctant about interrogating the piece of shit bug that was Poggle. Wolffe did not have that problem.

Rex hadn't asked, but he had a fairly accurate idea of why this was so important to Wolffe. General Skywalker seemed to realize his own ire could be equalled if not surpassed by Wolffe's rage. He could sense it in the Force: the urgency, the desperation, the fear. Anakin Skywalker knew that feeling all too well.

That's why he let Wolffe go into the cell instead. He would make sure to get the information and would be able to cover for Wolffe if needed with his own rank. He would get the information he needed to protect his padawan and not compromise his relationship with the Jedi Order in the process.

What Rex and Anakin saw that day was not something they would be willing to talk about in the future. It was not something Wolffe would remember with pride, but he would not allow himself to regret. Not one of the three would speak on the matter, and a sense of camaraderie was born from the knowledge that each of them would do what needed to be done to protect both Kriari and Ahsoka.

Wolffe was not proud of what he did that day, but when Ahsoka told them Barriss and Kriari had been taken, he was glad he had done it. At least he was able to have the satisfaction of beating almost to death the scum that had possessed the woman he loved. He only hoped Ahsoka could save them all, because when they all arrived at the medical station, he would not allow Kriari to go anywhere without an armed escort and himself by her side.