I'M BACK GUYS, SO SORRY FOR THE 6 MONTH HIATUS LMAOOO I'LL TRY POSTING MORE REGULARLY, BUT LIFE IS VERY SUCKY FOR ME RIGHT NOW AND TIME IS PRACTICALLY NON EXISTENT. BUT THANK Y'ALL FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY :)
There were few moments when there was complete silence. Constantly the sound of conflict rang through the air. The ground seemed to always quake, both from the battles ceaselessly fought and from the pure energy radiating through the Spike.
y/n closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the cold steel wall. Shutting out his senses and letting in the Force was the only way he could have some time for himself.
He was in a small, but beautifully decorated room with a window that offered a panoramic view of the landscape. There wasn't much to see, even if he had his eyes open. Oceans of bubbling lava stretched out to the horizon, and tall towers rose into the sky from the molten rock. In the distance, rocky mountainous landmasses, a collection of volcanos and stone, breached from the red magma.
Such was the harsh climate and terrain of Shu-Torun.
Opening his eyes again, he shifted slightly, changing to a cross-legged position. Absent mindedly, y/n began to gaze at the decorations of the room. Hand crafted mosaics and frescos, colourfully painted and assembled so that they appeared lifelike, made up the walls. The furniture that accompanied was made of the most precious, exotic materials and crafted to the utmost luxury possible. Above him hung a chandelier studded with crystals that refracted the red light from the lava outside.
Sho-Torun was resource rich, hiding pockets of ores and precious materials deep within its core. Much of the planet was filled with oceans of lava, volcanos and underground caverns. It had allied with the Republic during the Clone Wars, but now the Separatists were making an attack in an effort to claim possession of it. Being able to control Sho-Torun's profitable mining economy and directing where the much-needed resources went would be a huge benefit for the Separatists.
That was why y/n was there in the palace. Once again, Aayla and Anakin's battalions were working together, fighting to keep the droid armies from overtaking the planet. In particular, the Jedi were keeping the royal family of Shu-Torun safe after an intercepted message was found to order the assassination of the king.
Unable to stay still, he jumped to his feet and made his way to the huge stained-glass window, his boots making clipping sounds on the polished wooden floor. In the distance, the biggest spire rose into the air, its silhouette blurred and hazy from the magma's heat.
It was the Spike, sharing the name of the prison on Serenno to which he had undertaken a mission. It rose from the lava, growing thinner as it stretched further into the red sky and topped with a decorated turret. Even from such a distance, it seemed massive. y/n could sense the pure energy it drew in, and the powerful electricity it generated.
The mere fact that the Spike reminded him of rescuing Master Uten immediately brought Ahsoka back into his mind. y/n cursed loudly and scratched his scar.
Two months. That was how long it had been since Onderon, and how long it had been since the two had spoken outside of training with each other. He wasn't sure how to feel. Lux and the rebels weren't his worries anymore, but it felt like one problem led to another. The Togruta was ignoring him, not talking unless she absolutely had to.
But amongst the tangle of his misery, hopelessness and bitterness, there was another layer. y/n knew it was unreasonable but the resentment he had previously felt for the Onderonian senator now extended to Ahsoka herself. He was more than annoyed at her for pushing him away, for obviously liking someone else, and simply for not returning his feelings. The hurt had turned from defensive to offensive, and he felt like taking action, making her feel the pain he had felt.
It was an odd when love and hate collided. Somehow y/n still felt both of these emotions at the same time.
Placing a hand on the windowsill, he stared out with a slight scowl at the lava outside. His mind and heart felt like that, a bubbling mix of heat and energy and chaos. When Ahsoka began to ignore him, he had tried to adapt, focusing as much as his divided concentration allowed him on the battles. It gave him more time to get to know his men, build his connections with Bly and the other clones.
His eyes slowly travelled to his hand. It was the left one, almost every millimetre covered in tiny, neat letters. There were so many new losses, so many deaths that he hadn't been able to record.
About a dozen fresh new tattoos had been inked about an hour before, when the droids had launched another wave on the palace and the soldiers had fought back. The names were tightly squished into the small spaces he could find, but still written with a steady hand and clearly marked so each individual could be read and remembered.
When y/n had first reunited with Ahsoka, the script had only extended up to his bicep, and the names weren't so densely inked on his skin. Now it had crawled up to his shoulder, spreading until it almost reached the edge of his arm, snaking up his collarbone. If he was fighting, the collar of y/n's tunic would sometimes shift, and a couple names would be exposed on the side of his neck.
Grieving for the clones reminded him of the injured ones below. He was in the palace, meditating in a spare room. The Republican forces had their barracks stationed underground the building with the Sho-Torun soldiers. Many of the fighters were now recovering in the medical bays from the injuries they had sustained from the droids.
y/n was about to exit the room to check up on them when he sensed a danger.
Without warning, an explosion erupted behind him. He leapt instinctively out of the way, the Force aiding him, but he wasn't quick enough. The blast threw him forwards, a gush of heat at his heels. Smashing into the window, his back hit the wall and the glass, which shattered to pieces from both the detonation and his impact. Falling to the floor, he groaned but quickly jumped back to his feet, wincing as he felt the tiny shards of glass cutting into his back.
"Kriff, what in the Force?"
Another explosion shook the palace, this time in another location, but still the floor shook.
Drawing his lightsaber, he rushed out of the room and spilled into the corridor. Further detonations rocked the palace.
"I've got to get down," y/n muttered to himself, looking both ways down the passageways. He gave an irritated grunt when he remembered the seemingly endless spiralling staircase. Instead, he turned back and went back into the room, rushing to the window.
Coloured shards of glass still remained in the frame whilst the remainder was scattered on the floor and the rest imbedded painfully in his back.
The hole, however, was big enough. Leaping onto the sill, he looked down at the ground below, a good distance from the floor he was on. Without another thought he jumped out, plummeting down for a few seconds before landing on the ground and safety rolling. The fall would have almost certainly killed him, but with the Force he was able to absorb the impact and not get hurt.
A starfighter zoomed above his head. An entire squadron followed, dropping bombs down onto the palace. Some missed the structure, instead landing in the lava and throwing up huge waves of molten rock, others impacting the rocky crop that the palace was situated upon. Gunships were already landing around him, the airlocks slowing opening to release the droids within.
Explosions rocked the ground frequently, the zapping of laser cannon fire filling the air once more. But how? The previous droid attack had occurred an hour before, it had been logically stated by everyone that another wave shouldn't have invaded for at least another turn. Shu-Torun was supposed to have defences, how did the Separatists get in?
There was no time to wonder as y/n gripped his lightsaber tightly and sprinted into the throne room. Behind him, he could hear the clones' shouts and blaster fire as the soldiers hastily rushed out to fight.
As soon as he entered, he knew something was wrong. The pristine marble floor was cracked, the impossibly tall walls scarred with fresh blaster bolt marks. Slumped forms littered the room, the royal guards all lifeless. It brought y/n little reassurance to see two dispatched droids, for that meant that the Separatists had already infiltrated and taken the family.
"What's going on?"
y/n spun around to see Ahsoka jogging into the room, her lightsabers also ignited.
"Don't know. Surprise attack. Clankers seem to have gotten hold of the king." He keyed his commlink. "Master, I've no idea what's going on, but we've got a double threat attack, bombers up in the sky and ground forces down here. We need to secure the perimeter, find out how in the Force the droids got in, and they've also taken the royal family. Ahsoka and I will handle the latter."
Aayla's reply came through, saying that she understood, and the sound of heavy blaster fire echoed in the background as well as from the battle now raging outside.
The two Jedi then walked further into the ridiculously large room, alert for any dangers.
"Oh look, how convenient, a trail of blood," the Togruta half joked, eying the drops of crimson on the seat and splattering down the steps to the raised dais as they reached the foot of the throne.
y/n remained silent, gazing up at the intricately gleaming gold and silver decoration that made up the back wall. It was the first time in two months that she had used humour, made an effort to engage him in conversation. The smile faded from her face when he didn't reply.
If Ahsoka wanted to reignite their relationship, she would have to try harder. It wasn't like y/n would immediately warm up to her again after being given the cold shoulder for so long, and not while he still despised her for the simple reason of her not liking him back. He ignored the fact that he was being cynical; he wanted her to feel the same way he had felt when Ahsoka rejected him.
Instead, y/n gave a stiff nod without looking at her, and shifted his gaze to the blood specks. They contrasted starkly against the marble, which was so white it ironically almost had a blue green tinge to it.
He led the way forward, following the red droplets as they wound up the double staircase. It was almost like his mind was working as two; the 'front' part keeping alert and scrutinising everything he saw, ready for danger. The 'back' was tuned to the Force, working in the background as he sensed the droids and royal family above.
They followed the trail up until the stairs split. Here, the blood specks continued in both directions, as the Separatists must have divided.
"I'll go left," y/n grunted and gave a jerk of his head before veering off to the side, not bothering to look at Ahsoka.
She bit her lip, deciding whether or not to respond, before exhaling from her nose. Turning, she cautiously began to jog up the stairs. Lives were at stake. She couldn't risk that to ponder over y/n's careless manner.
They both suddenly heard a yell and blaster shots, and immediately cursed as they started rushing up the steps. The split staircases stretched deep into the wings of the palace, separated by multiple walls so that the further up they went, the further apart y/n and Ahsoka were.
One floor. Two. Three. How many was that? Eight? The figures were lost in his head, he rhythmically strode up the smooth marble steps, but somehow the scuffle – louder now – was still far away.
A body fell with a dull thud in front of him. The snap of breaking bones rang out with a faint crack, whilst the figure, face down, hit the solid marble steps with a sickly wet thump. Its slumped form stayed still for a moment before rolling down a couple stairs like a ragdoll.
y/n narrowed his eyes and looked above. Through the intricate crisscross of staircases, the highest platform was almost shaking with action, the sound carrying itself into his ears below. He could see the odd spark of misaimed blaster bolts flashing through the air.
He needed to get up there, fast. Gripping his lightsaber tight, he bent his knees slightly and jumped, using the Force to propel himself.
And suddenly he regretted it. There was something wrong, a feeling shooting into his brain as soon as he jumped up, but there was no way to stop midair.
The breath was knocked out of his lungs as a hard metallic object rammed into y/n out of nowhere. His body was thrown sideways, smashing into the nearest wall, which also boasted a huge red and orange stained-glass window. His shoulder hit it, and the window splintered into a thousand fragments, some of which imbedded into his already bleeding back.
The wind had been knocked out of him, and y/n was gasping for air. Dazed and in pain, he barely grabbed the windowsill in time before falling off the wall, glass fragments stabbing into his hand. The other still managed to hold his lightsaber.
A cold hand gripped his ankle, the sudden dead weight dragging him down slowly and causing the glass to cut in deeper. Glancing down, he saw the skull like face and lithe body of a MagnaGuard, one of its arms wielding an electrostaff that was about to impale him.
His senses sprung to full alarm. In one fluid action, the Jedi sliced downwards with his lightsaber, cutting the off the arm that was hanging to his ankle before the droid could react. As the machine's weapon wielding arm swung up to attack him, y/n crushed it with the Force and threw it upwards into the chaos above, where the crushed metal ball knocked three battle droids off the platform, screaming. He hadn't meant to do that, but that was a fortunate throw and he had to relieve the pain in his bleeding hand right now.
Ignoring the battle droids' cries of surprise, y/n pulled himself up to the window, wiped his hands of blood as best as he could, before surveying the area above and jumping up again.
This time he reached the platform without any more interference. Landing and rolling to absorb the impact, he almost yelled out loud because of the glass fragments in his back. Despite the sharp pain, he gritted his teeth and immediately jumped into action.
The platform was three wingspans wide, with intricate stone balustrades. It was probably the highest point indoors in the palace, stretching across the open space below for the royal family to observe the castle from above.
Now, however, the royal family was struggling to stay alive. A ragtag group of three surviving palace guards hid with the monarchs behind a large block of stone that had broken off the balustrade. A few clone troopers and Ahsoka, who had gotten to the royal family first, were trying to hold their ground against the overwhelming number of Separatists.
Commando droids were swarming onto their position from the walls, whilst droidekas and battle droids marched at them from both ends of the platform. The Jedi, clone troopers and Shu-Toruns were caught in the middle.
"y/n!" Ahsoka yelled out, deflecting a few blaster bolts whilst she peeked up over the stone to look at the Separatist advancement. "Take the left side, I'm going to try get the objectives out of here!"
He gave a curt nod and plunged into the nearest row of battle droids. In the limited space, the machine's organised platoons only made it easier for him to cut down. Swarms of commando droids were now making their way to the platform as well, threatening to trap them all in the middle.
y/n glanced back behind his shoulder to see how Ahsoka was doing. A clone trooper lay unmoving against the balustrade. Their eyes met and without any spoken words, their minds synced.
He thrust both his arms out straight, Force pushing the droids on each side to the end of the platform. The Togruta led the surviving soldiers and the royal family to the balustrade, where they leapt over the stone and were about to jump-
"GRENADE!" y/n roared as a black object soared through the air, landing inches from the barrister that they were going to vault off from. Acting with instinct, he reached out with his hand again, this time using the Force to pull them backwards, back onto the platform. If they jumped, the grenade would have detonated and blew them apart.
But it was not enough distance for them to be safe from the explosion, and there wasn't enough time to throw the bomb back to the Separatists, even if he used the Force. Instead, he leapt forwards towards the nearest person – the prince of Shu-Torun – shielding him from the blast.
The eruption threw him back several metres and it burnt his back; he could feel the scorching fabric and blistered flesh.
The ear-splitting bang left his head spinning and for many moments all he could hear was a constant whining buzz. y/n didn't bother to open his eyes, all he felt was the body of the prince still intact and alive.
There was a click, and soon the smell of smoke filled the air. Still deaf except for the ringing in his ears, he sluggishly tried to stand, but the combination of gas inhalation, pain and exhaustion took over. y/n fell unconscious.
His eyes snapped open and immediately he sat up. The white sheets of the medical cot covered his bandaged body. A coolness on his skin and lack of terrible pain told him that they had used bacta.
All of a sudden, y/n remembered the situation in which they had been. Ahsoka. The royals. Droids. Explosion. Smoke grenade.
The door to the medical bay slid open, and in strode Bly.
"Back in the sickroom, Cap?" the clone gave a thin smile that didn't reach his eyes. "How you feeling?"
y/n gazed at the rest of the cots, all occupied with injured troopers.
"I'm fine," he replied. "What happened? I lost consciousness..."
"Yes sir, I know," Bly cut in. "I'll give it to you straight and clear. The Seppies managed to gain connection to the Spike, that big, tall tower that obtains energy from the planet's core, from the last attack they launched. With access to all of the electricity produced, they were able to shut down the defences to get in, and avoid being detected until the last moment."
"Holy Kriff," he growled, slipping on a tunic and starting to dress.
Bly gave a nod, silently indicating that he was liable to head back to service. "We managed to get enough troops to secure the platform in the end. You protected Prince Monthan and he is currently unharmed. However," he drew a breath and continued.
"Ahsoka and the Princess, Trios, have been captured by Separatists."
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