Accismus⋆౨ৎ˚⟡.• Anakin Skywalker⋆౨ৎ˚⟡.•

86.

'Get a scan ready!' a clone without his helmet said from his place in the corner.

Countless other clones were laid out on stretchers, while some were sitting on beds with their arms in slings or bandages around their heads. Sol was the only patient dressed in Jedi robes and the only one who was being fussed over by the other commander of the legion.

While Sol's insides were being scanned by a handheld x-ray, Anakin stood at the foot of the bed that she had been transferred on to. With his arms crossed and his brow heavy over his eyes, Anakin watched the way Sol's head rolled around in delirium. It was possible that her hearing was temporarily gone from being so close to an explosion, so any noises around her were going by unheard.

'Some broken ribs, and her lungs appear damaged,' the helmet-less clone announced while looking at the screen of Sol's x-ray. 'She needs to go back to the temple, sir. We can't treat her here.'

'Have a ship prepared. I want word for when she's departed the system and for when she arrives at the temple.'

'Yes, sir.'

Anakin looked at Sol one last time and couldn't bare to see the way her expression churned into a grimace. The blood that stained her temple was wiped away by a medic next to her, before a butterfly closure was placed over the cut. Anakin didn't notice the way his fist clenched from its position underneath his elbow. As his uncovered hand stroked along his hairless chin, the bionic fingers beneath his gloves enclosed and shook with a growing rage.

Unannounced, Anakin turned on his heel and barreled out of the tent. The flap of its entrance whipped out of his way without his hand needing to rip at its edge, and he grabbed the first two clones that he saw waiting for orders. Before he could stray too far from the camp, Master Obi-wan appeared back from his failed advance.

'Anakin?' he called as his own legion carried their own injured towards the tent. 'Where are you going?' 

'To destroy the base.'

'With two clones? Have you lost your mind?!'

'I might as well have.'

Obi-wan watched with a hanging jaw as the blade of Anakin's lightsaber ignited. He had never heard his ex-student's voice drop so low and he sensed a great rage in his signature. Obi-wan was too stunned to go after Anakin and just helplessly watched him disappear into the trees with a dark cloud over his head.

With rigid shoulders and his steps forceful, Anakin was livid. The two clones either side of him dared not to question their commander who never uttered a word to them. They sent their prayers at the thought of going against the separatist with just one Jedi and their two blasters. But they would barely need their weapons, as the hot, searing feeling that boiled in their commander's stomach would be enough to take on a whole army.

--- 

Darth Vader's ship docked on the landing platform. It's two panels that were aerodynamically designed to cut through the air receded back to the singular top panel that protruded from the body's roof. The ramp descended to the platform and the man in all his dark glory was exposed to the air of Naboo.

He hadn't heard the sound of rushing waterfalls and smelt the fresh scents of the nearby forests in years, and he was yet to experience these things again. His mask filtered every molecule of oxygen that slipped through its vent, and he only heard sounds through the transmissions of the helmet's speakers. This was an advantage, as these aspects would remind Vader of his first time on Naboo, where he first fell for the woman that he craved to gaze upon again. While in his thick suit, Darth Vader was able to pretend that he was not on the beautiful planet he had been and was now on an Empire-ran vessel that held who he knew was a rebellion leader.