"Shadow Squadron, do not break formation." Anakin orders as we draw nearer to the ship.
The ship is huge– far bigger than any Republic cruiser. I didn't realise the Separatists were equipped with such high level technology. If they continue with such innovations, who knows what kind of weapons they will be capable of possessing. What could possibly be worse than this?
I watch in horror as the unmatched ion weapon of the Malevolence is fully charged up. The Separatists launch the supercharged blast toward the medical transports carrying innocent, unarmed clones. The wave deactivates the ships, rendering them utterly helpless.
We power our ships onward, desperate to protect the clones on the transports. It's no use. The Separatists do the unthinkable– they fire upon them until they explode into nothing.
All of those men died, and there was nothing we could do to help them.
"We have to stop that ship!" I shout.
I could not let any more innocent clones die at the hands of General Grievous while we are in a position to destroy him and the ship.
"Easy, (y/l/n)" Master Plo urges "We must not attack too soon."
"Looks like we don't have much of a choice. Fighters incoming!" Anakin warns.
There are too many fighters approaching us for me to even begin to count. We may be significantly outnumbered, but that doesn't mean we are out-skilled. We are all experienced pilots, and personal experience beats the programming of droids.
The pilots continue to close the gap between our squadron and the Malevolence while the gunners fire upon the approaching fighters.
Much like Anakin, my flying choices generally involve fancy and sudden manoeuvres. It occurs to me that this may be limiting Cal's ability to target the fighters.
"How are you going back there Cal?" I ask my Padawan.
"Good, Master. I've shot down a few fighters." He says proudly.
"Keep up the good work." I encourage him.
Cal's persistence and devotion to everything he does is most impressive. He can be a little reckless from time to time, but mostly presents himself as a strong and capable young Jedi. I couldn't be prouder of how he is handling this battle.
I watch ahead as a terrifying wave of purple energy hurtles toward us. Another ion ray. The rate at which the weapon recharged is as impressive as it is horrific. Any feeling of victory I had growing in my heart vanishes.
"We have incoming!" I alert Anakin along with the squadron, although I am sure they all would have seen it by now.
"Make toward the edge of the ray now!" Anakin orders. "Give it everything you've got."
We all fly our bombers upwards. The angle at which we are travelling is incredibly steep, and I worry some of the engines of the bombers may fail under the strain of it. I barely make it to the top of the ray myself.
Once the ion ray has passed, I turn my bomber around to assess the damage. Just as I had feared, we have lost some of our own.
"Shadow Squadron, check in." Anakin says, defeated.
"We lost Matchstick and Tag." Ahsoka says solemnly.
"Shadows 6, 7, and 10 were caught in the ray." Cal adds.
Half of our ships, gone. I knew this mission was going to turn out to be as reckless as the others, yet it seems there was nothing we could do to stop it. Our plan not only endangered Cal and Ahsoka, but cost the lives of two of our troopers.
"(Y/n), are you okay?" Anakin asks.
I love that he feels the need to check in on me. It may seem a little suspicious to everyone else, but that doesn't make the gesture any less meaningful.
"I'm fine, Anakin." I say, fighting back the emotions pooling inside me.
With only half of our original crew, we approach the Malevolence. Not only did we underestimate the course, the ion weapon, and the fighters, but also the firepower coming from the turrets attached to the ship.
"Stay on course." Master Plo orders.
The firepower of the ship is extreme. Endless arrays of red blaster fire hurtle in our direction, showing no mercy for those it hits.
"Anakin, we need a new plan!" I shout.
"We can make it, (y/n). Hang in there." He replies.
I think he forgets that not everything is his choice. I am his co-general. We are meant to make decisions together.
"Watch those towers, boys." Anakin alerts the squadron.
We fly closely past the turret towers. It's easy enough for me, being a Jedi and all, but it won't be for the men.
"We can make it, but the others can't!" I yell.
I don't want any more lives to be lost at our hands. We've lost too many already, all of which could have been avoided. We need to change our tactics.
"Anakin!" I yell louder after he doesn't answer.
Still nothing.
"If we can do enough damage, the weapon may overload when Grievous tries to fire." Master Plo explains, clearly agreeing that Anakin's tactics are not working.
"Shadow Squadron new target." I announce. If Anakin is going to make decisions without consulting me, then I will do the same to him. "We're taking out the starboard ion cannon. Follow my lead."
"Copy that, General (y/l/n)."
The troopers follow my lead as we fly toward the source of these horrific waves of energy. The ion cannon. Anakin and Ahsoka appear alongside my ship out the front as we reach the target.
"Torpedos away!" I order.
We fire our torpedos at the almost charged ion cannon. If we had delayed our attack any longer, the weapon would have been fired at the larger medical transport.
I fly away from the ion cannon but remain close enough to the ship to avoid the blast wave of the cannon. When Grievous tries to fire, the weapon locks up and instead does significant damage to the ship itself.
"Good work, Shadow Squadron." I applaud the remaining troops.
Three Republic Cruisers come out of hyperspace. One of which will be led by Obi Wan. I am incredibly relieved to see our reinforcements. Once the cruisers begin firing on the Malevolence, victory will be ours.
"Everyone head to the medical transports. We'll check in with the cruisers later." Anakin says.
I begin moving forward when my bomber suddenly stops in its tracks. I rev the engines as high as possible, but it does nothing. Everything seems to be functioning properly so it can't be my bomber. My question as to what is happening is answered as we are forced back toward the Malevolence.
We're caught in their tractor beam.
"Kriff." I mutter to myself
"Master?" Cal calls.
I desperately rev the ships engines. I know I won't be able to get out of the tractor beam, but I may be able to resist it a little longer.
A single bomber turns around and circles back to us. I immediately know it's Anakin.
"(Y/n) what are you doing?!" Anakin shouts through the commlink "Get out of there!"
"Thank you, Anakin. I haven't tried that yet." I say sarcastically.
The tractor beam pulls Cal and I closer and closer toward the ship of General Grievous. There was no getting out of this. My main focus right now needed to be protecting Cal, not easing the mind of my terrified husband.
"Hold on, I'm coming to get you." He says anxiously.
I watch as Anakin speeds toward Cal and I. If he gets much closer, he too, will be caught in the tractor beam.
"Anakin stop!" I shout.
Surprisingly, he actually stops his ship. This may be one of the first times that he has ever listened to me.
"I won't let anything happen to you." He says through our connection.
I cannot see him, but I can picture the broken expression on his face as he utters these words. All of the frustration and anger I had developed toward him during this mission dissolves into despair. I don't know what will happen to me on this ship. My goal now is to protect Cal, not myself.
I may never see Anakin again.
"Go. I have a plan." I lie.
"No," he stutters.
"Trust me." I plead.
There is a slight pause before he says anything more. I can feel him contemplating his actions.
"I'll come back for you." Anakin promises both Cal and I.
"I know." I say, showing my faith in him.
With that, he flies way. I watch the space before me as the bombers draw further and further out of my reach. There's nothing they or the cruisers can do now. They won't fire on this ship while Cal and I are onboard.
We are brought into the dangerous ship. I carefully survey the damage inside. There is fire everywhere and broken pieces of the ship lay on the floor. We managed to damage it much more than I had thought.
I quickly scan our surroundings within the docking bay for any life forms, or rather droids. There's nothing here yet, but it was only a matter of time until Grievous appeared with a small army of battle droids.
The Republic, or more so Anakin, will rush to our rescue soon enough. Until then, I needed to keep Cal safe. No matter the cost.
I flip a few switches and activate several mechanisms within the bomber before climbing out. Upon noticing me leave, Cal does the same. We crouch behind the ship to avoid being seen by anything that may enter unexpectedly.
"Alright Cal, listen to me." I urge. "Grievous is going to come down here any second now. You cannot be here when that happens. I will create a diversion, and you will need to run."
"No." He argues "I won't leave you, Master."
I understand his reluctance. If Master Ti had asked me to leave her alone with Grievous when I were a Padawan, there is no way I would have listened.
"The Republic will rescue us, Cal. We just need to stay alive in the meantime. I can hold my own against Grievous, but I need you to analyse the ship and find the weak points without getting caught. That way we'll know how to destroy this thing when we get out." I explain.
The task I'm giving Cal isn't as important as I'm making it sound. I really just need him to agree to the plan in order for him to be safe. Cal's safety is my priority. I don't care what happens to me, as long as he gets out of here alive.
Cal nods slowly, "Okay, I'll do it."
I'm glad he is able to see things clearly. Like me, Cal does struggle with separating his personal feelings from his better judgement. His ability to distinguish between the two right now shows his inner strength.
"See that corridor over there." I point to a small corridor on the eastern side of the ship "That's not one of the main entrances to this docking bay, which means Grievous and the battle droids won't be there. I need you to wait in there for my signal."
"How will I know when that is?" He asks.
"Trust me, you'll know." I tell him.
I place a hand on my Padawan's shoulder. He's brave, far braver than most Padawan's his age. I have faith that he will be okay. He is smart enough to make the right decisions without my judgement to guide him.
"May the force be with you, my Padawan." I say.
"May the force be with you, Master." He returns.
I give him a nod, urging him to go to the agreed upon position of the corridor. I stand my ground by remaining in front of the bomber we arrived on. My plan is as risky as it is reckless, but my actions won't impact anyone who deserves mercy.
A distinctive cough comes within earshot. I remember hearing of how Master Windu used the force to crush the chest plates of General Grievous while on a particular mission. His actions damaged his lungs to the point of no repair, leaving him with a persistent cough.
The sound draws nearer and nearer until the hideous figure of General Grievous walks into the docking bay alongside at least a dozen battle droids.